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WORLD SPORT

Bertagnolli grabs the sixth stage

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Dutchman Dekker leads going into the final day of the race in Italy

ROME, Italy (Reuters) -- Italy's Leonardo Bertagnolli won the 179-km sixth stage of the Tirreno-Adriatico cycle race from San Benedetto del Tronto to Torricella Sicura on Monday.

The Cofidis rider attacked in the final kilometer of the uphill finish and held off the chasing peloton.

Fellow Italians Alessandro Petacchi and Riccardo Ricco finished second and third while Dutchman Thomas Dekker retains the overall lead going into the final day.

The finish of the stage was moved from San Giacomo to Torricella Sicura after the roads leading to the scheduled mountain finale was blocked by snow.

Bertagnolli, who won the French Tour du Haut Var one-day race in February, was frustrated with the route change.

"I was disappointed when the organizers changed the route because I'd been determined to try and win at San Giacomo," he said.

"However, I stayed motivated and attacked at the right time.

"I gave it a good go when I accelerated. I saw that I opened a gap and so I kept going."

Bertagnolli moved to the French Cofidis team in 2005 and was relishing his chance to be one of the team's leaders for Saturday's Milan-San Remo race.

"I'm glad I moved to a French team because now I've go more responsibility and can race as I like," he said.

"I want to do well at San Remo and especially at Liege-Bastogne-Liege because the finish and the distance really suits me."

Tirreno-Adriatico ends on Tuesday with the 166-km seventh stage from Campli to San Benedetto del Tronto and Dekker is favorite to win the overall title since the race finishes with eight laps round a flat circuit.

""It feels nice to be in the leader's jersey, especially as the worst stage is over and there is only one day to go," Dekker said.

"I have to thank my Rabobank team mates for helping me during the stage. It's incredible to have people like three-time world champion Oscar Freire, Michael Boogerd and Juan Antonio Flecha working for me."

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