Petacchi wins 4th stage of Tirreno-Adriatico; Axelsson retains lead
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Petacchi wins 4th stage of Tirreno-Adriatico; Axelsson retains lead
CIVITANOVA MARCHE, Italy (AP) — Alessandro Petacchi sprinted to victory in the fourth stage of the Tirreno-Adriatico race Saturday and Niklas Axelsson retained the overall lead.
Petacchi finished the 103-mile leg from Porto Recanati to Civitanova Marche in 3 hours, 59 minutes, 58 seconds. The Italian held off Oscar Freire in a reverse of the first stage, when Petacchi surged but was unable to overtake the Spaniard.
Axelsson, of Sweden, retained a 10-second lead in the overall standings going into a 16.2-mile time trial Sunday, which could decide the outcome of the weeklong race. The last two stages on Monday and Tuesday are not expected to affect the overall standings.
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