/world sport
ALGEMESI, Spain -- Italian Alessandro Petacchi won the 11th stage of the Tour of Spain in a powerful sprint finish on Wednesday, while Russian Denis Menchov retained his overall race lead.
Petacchi raises his arms in celebration after claiming the 11th stage of the Tour of Spain.
Petacchi crossed the line in four hours, 45 minutes, 34 seconds, ahead of world champion Paolo Bettini and Milram team-mate Erik Zabel -- who both finished with the same time.
Andre Greipel of T-Mobile and Francaise des Jeux's Carlos De Cruz completed the top five.
Rabobank rider Menchov, the winner of the race in 2005, came home safely in the peloton to keep his overall leader's gold jersey with a time of 44:27:25, leading compatriot Vladimir Efimkin of the Caisse d'Epargne team by 2:01.
Tour de France runner-up Cadel Evans is in third place, trailing Menchov by 2:27, with Spaniard Carlos Sastre fourth at 3:O2.
Sprinters will also be favored by Thursday's relatively flat 12th stage from Algemesi to Hellin, a 177km ride that loops through four provinces. E-mail to a friend 
| Most Viewed | Most Emailed |
From the Blogs: 
Sit tight, we're getting to the good stuff
