Bertagnolli scores unexpected win

SAN SEBASTIAN, Spain -- Italian Leonardo Bertagnolli raced to a surprise win in the San Sebastian one-day classic on Saturday as he reaped the benefit of an audacious attack.

The Liquigas rider, who has just five days racing under his belt since March because of a heart condition, went clear with Spaniard Juan Manuel Garate 10 kilometers from the finish before outsprinting him.

Spanish favorite Alejandro Valverde was third, 18 seconds behind the leading duo.

"It's the biggest victory of my career by a long shot." said Bertagnolli, whose previous best win was a stage in the 2005 Tour of Spain.

"I knew I had to get away from the main contenders like Valverde and (Italian) Alessandro Ballan because they are very fast in the final sprints. That's why we attacked before the finish."

Born in nearby Irun, Garate was hugely disappointed at losing his home race.

"I've always wanted to win the Clasica since I was a little boy, but I got too ambitious at the finish." Garate told reporters.

Bertagnolli's team mate, Italian Danilo Di Luca, remains the overall leader of the ProTour series.

Meanwhile, Italian sprint specialist Alessandro Petacchi made his comeback to racing after being cleared of doping in the Giro D'Italia.

The Milram rider finished out of the podium places as Belgian Greg Van Avermaet won the 100th edition of the German classic Rund um die Hainleite.

Van Avermaet won the 201km race in a sprint finish ahead of Germans Sven Krauss and Paul Martens with Petacchi rolling across the line in the main peloton. E-mail to a friend