Petacchi, nicknamed “Ale-Ljet,” benefitted from the best leadout train, which delivered him to the front 300 km from the finish, with HTC-Columbia’s Mark Cavendish right on the Lampre rider’s wheel.
Petacchi started in the center of the road, then drifted right as Cavendish prepared to pass him on the outside. Cave was forced to move left, where he got boxed in by Quick Step’s Andreas Stauff. The “Manx Missile” never go to launch, and was forced to settle for second.
Saxo Bank’s J.J. Haedo took third, Stauff finished fourth, and Tyler Farrar from Garmin-Transitions finished fifth, having got stuck behind Haedo and blocked as he made his move.
“When I got to 200 meters I saw Farrar, and I saw that Cavendish was a little bit late on the sprint and so I put my head down and went for the win,” Petacchi said on Fromsport.com.
“I am pretty happy with my performance today,” he continued. “I worked very well with my teammates on this sprint today. We had a little bit of difficulty in the past few stages, but today the team led me to the finish pretty well.
“It’s heartening to take sprints from riders as fast as Cavendish. I am pretty happy.”
Best Leadout Gets the Win
Stage Seven had a single Cat Three climb two thirds through; otherwise it was made for a sprint finish. A breakaway did form early; 2 km in Vladimir Isaichev of Xacobeo Galicia attacked, joined by Dominik Roels (Milram), Martin Pedersen (Footon–Servetto), and Jorge Montenegro (Andalucia Cajasur.)
This quartet worked hard but couldn’t stay away; five km for the finish the peloton caught them. Dave Zabriskie and Christopher Vande Velde of Garmin-Transitions did a lot of the work, hoping to get their man Tyler Farrar in for the final sprint. Lacking his leadout man Julian Dean, Farrar got trapped in traffic in the sprint.
HTC’s leadout train had its own problems. After the catch, HTC, Lampre, and Quick Step worked in front, with HTC taking over4 km out. But by the 3 km mark, there were only two HTC riders out front, and soon only Tejay Van Garteren. Quick Step then took over. 2 km out, Mark Cavendish was lost somewhere in the peloton, fighting to get to the front.
With 1.6 km to go, Lampre moved to the front. Their leadout has been the best this season, delivering Petacchi to multiple wins in the Tour de France, and they were clearly ready to do it again.
The final kilometer was tricky, with two traffic roundabouts to negotiate; the first was wide enough to ride through straight, but the second was a 90-degree right-hand bend. HTC and Liquigas made their moves between the two roundabouts, but coming around the second, just 300 meters from the finish line, it was still Lampre leading.
Petacchi launched as soon as he cleared the corner. Cavendish waited, then made his move right, only to be blocked. He then tried left, But Andreas Stauff had come up. Cavendish looked to have the speed and the timing; he just couldn’t find clear road.
Well, that’s sprinting at the professional level. Petacchi didn’t make and sharp blocking moves. He just gradually drifted into Cavendish’s path at the most opportune moment.
Mark Cavendish will have to wait a while for a chance at a stage win in the Vuelta. Stage Eight heads uphill, climbing five mountain passes in 190 kilometers. The final climb is a cat One, just a few kilometers from the finish line. It will be an exciting stage, with some serious selections surely on that final climb, but the sprinters won’t care. They will be struggling to hold on at the back.
| Vuelta a Espana Stage Seven | |||
|
| Rider | Team | Time |
| 1 | Alessandro Petacchi | Lampre-Farnese Vini | 4:35:52 |
| 2 | Mark Cavendish | Team HTC-Columbia | +0:00 |
| 3 | Juan José Haedo | Saxo Bank | +0:00 |
| 4 | Andreas Stauff | Quick Step | +0:00 |
| 5 | Tyler Farrar | Garmin-Transitions | +0:00 |
| 6 | Denis Galyimzyanov | Katusha | +0:00 |
| 7 | Robert Förster | Milram | +0:00 |
| 8 | Sebastien Hinault | Ag2R-Mondiale | +0:00 |
| 9 | Daniele Bennati | Liquigas-Doimo | +0:00 |
| 10 | Philippe Gilbert | Omega Pharma-Lotto | +0:00 |
| 2010 Vuelta a Espana General Classifiaction | |||
|
| Rider | Team | Time |
| 1 | Philippe Gilbert | Omega Pharma-Lotto | 22:36:26 |
| 2 | Igor Anton | Euskaltel-Euskadi | 0:00:10 |
| 3 | Joaquin Rodriguez | Team Katusha | 0:00:10 |
| 4 | Vincenzo Nibali | Liquigas-Doimo | 0:00:12 |
| 5 | Peter Velits | Team HTC-Columbia | 0:00:16 |
| 6 | Tejay Van Garderen | Team HTC-Columbia | 0:00:29 |
| 7 | Xavier Tondo | Cervélo Test Team | 0:00:49 |
| 8 | Frank Schleck | Team Saxo Bank | 0:00:50 |
| 9 | Ruben Plaza | Caisse d’Epargne | 0:00:54 |
| 10 | Ezequiel Mosquera | Xacobeo Galicia | 0:00:55 |
