Veteran Zabel powers to stage win

ZARAGOZA, Spain -- Veteran German Erik Zabel won a sprint finish to take the seventh stage of the Tour of Spain, while Russian Vladimir Efimkin retained his overall race lead.

Discovery Channel's Allan Davis raised his arms after crossing the line with Zabel, but the Milram sprinter edged him to win the 175km stage in three hours, 52 minutes, 55 seconds.

Efimkin, of the Caisse d'Epargne team, kept his 1:06 lead over Denis Menchov of Rabobank with an overall time of 28:26:56.

World champion Paolo Bettini, Koldo Fernandez of Euskatel and T-Mobile's Andre Korff rounded out the top five, all with the same time as Zabel.

There was a major crash involving a number of riders in the final three kilometers of the race which divided the peloton but did not affect the overall standings.

The accident occurred where the road had been narrowed because of major building activity in Zaragoza which is hosting the international Expo 2008.

"We went from a very wide road to a very narrow one. It was dangerous," said Zabel after the race.

Zabel profited from the absence of top sprinters Alessandro Petacchi, his Milram team-mate, and Spaniard Oscar Freire, winner of three stages, who both hung back after the crash.

The win was Zabel's eight stage win in the Vuelta and the 209th of his 15-year professional career.

Saturday's eighth stage is a 52km time-trial from Carinena to Zaragoza. E-mail to a friend