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Petacchi happy after knee surgery
 Petacchi hopes to ride in the Tour of Spain which begins on August 26. CREMONA, Italy -- Italian rider Alessandro Petacchi has had an operation on the left kneecap he fractured in a crash during last Monday's stage of the Giro d'Italia. "The operation was a bit more complicated than is usual but everything seems to have gone perfectly," Petacchi said on Wednesday. "I'm going to have to wear a rigid brace around my knee for five weeks and walk using crutches." The broken sections of the kneecap were joined using material that will eventually be absorbed by Petacchi's body. The operation was carried out in a private hospital near Pisa and lasted two hours. "Hopefully the first check-up in 20 days time will show I'm recovering quickly," the 32-year-old sprinter said. "I want to start cycling and racing again as quickly as possible but of course without taking any risks. I know I've got many years of racing in front of me." Petacchi tangled with another rider 50 km from the finish of the third stage of the Giro. He is considered one of the best sprinters in cycling and has won 19 Giro stages in the last three years. Petacchi has already said he will miss the Tour de France in July but hopes to ride in the Tour of Spain which begins on Aug. 26. 
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