American Fred Rodriguez showed that Alessandro Petacchi can be beaten in the sprint finishes at the Giro d'Italia when he won the ninth stage from Policoro to Carovigno in the heel of the Italian peninsular.
Colombian-born Rodriguez won his first ever Giro stage by outfoxing Petacchi and the other sprinters at the end of the 142 km stage by jumping first about three hundred metres from the finish line.
He opened up a slight gap and held off the Italian's strong sprint by half a bike length to take the victory. Angelo Furlan of Italy was third with Robbie McEwen of Australia fourth.
Damiano Cunego of Italy retained his 10-second overall race lead on his compatriot and team mate Gilberto Simoni after they finished 16th and 15th respectively. Franco Pellizotti of Italy is third 28 seconds behind after coming home in 19th place.
Filed by Mark O'Neill-Cummins
