Quick Step’s Paolo Bettini was forced to dig deep to win the 16th stage of the Vuelta a España on Tuesday.

The 2004 Olympic champion almost ran out of space as Fassa Bortolo’s feared sprint ace Alessandro Petacchi, who has already won four stages in this year’s Vuelta, came surging up on the outside at the end of the 162.5km stage from Leon to Valladolid in northern Spain.

Already the winners of four stages in this year's Vuelta, Petacchi's Fassa Bortolo team lost control of the stage on a slight ascent close to the finish and Bettini made his move 300 meters from the line, narrowly foiling Petacchi's counter-charge in the ensuing 20-man bunch sprint.

"Winning my first ever stage in the Tour of Spain has been like a liberation for me," the 31-year-old Bettini told Reuters. "Petacchi knew he had to wait for me to accelerate then timed his counterattack very well. But I was able to fend him off because I wanted to win so much.

"After my toughest ever season, this is more important than taking a classic."

In the race for the main prize of the golden jersey, Spain's Roberto Heras (Liberty Seguros) managed to stay out of trouble on what was a mainly flat stage. The three-time winner retained his lead of 4 minutes and 30 seconds over Russian Denis Menchov (Rabobank) with Spaniard Carlos Sastre (Team CSC) third overall at 4:50.

The day’s only significant escape never really managed to develop into anything threatening. Jorge Garcia (Relax Fuenlabrada), Thorwald Veneberg (Rabobank), Bart Dockx (Davitamon-Lotto), Arnaud Coyot (Cofidis), Marcus Ljungqvist (Liquigas-Bianchi), André Korff (T-Mobile), Sébastien Chavanel (Bouygues Telecom and Matteo Tosatto (Fassa Bortolo) never got more than a minute on the main field.

Photo: Graham Watson

Behind the escapees, the pace over the opening hour stayed high, averaging nearly 50kph, and the break was eventually pulled back well before the feed zone at 80km.

Super sprinter Petacchi, who gave his rivals a glimpse of hope a few days ago when organizers initially announced his departure from the race - only to see the Italian take the start - looked to be on his way to claiming his fifth stage win of this year's race as the finish line appeared after a tight, final bend.

Another few meters and...

Photo: Graham Watson

However, while his disciplined team provided a stellar leadout en route to the finish line, a number of attacks and a slight grade near the finish conspired to upset the sprinter's plans.

A late burst by Spaniard Samuel Sanchez (Euskaltel-Euskadi) appeared briefly promising, but it only served to prompt Bettini into making a move himself. The diminutive Italian soon overtook Sanchez, but had to dig deep in the final 100 meters to hold off Petacchi, who was coming up steadily on his left . Petacchi finished second ahead of Spaniard Miguel Angel Martin Perdiguero (Phonak).

Petacchi said he will stay in the Vuelta through to the finish on September 18 in order to maintain his "rhythm and form” going into the world championship road race in Madrid a week later. The 31-year-old Italian is one of the favorites on a course many say suits his talents to a T.

Preliminary Stage Results
1. Paolo Bettini (I), Quick Step, 162.5km in 3:40:56
2. Alessandro Petacchi (I), Fassa Bortolo
3. M. A. Martin Perdiguero (Sp), Phonak
4. Joaquin Rodriguez (Sp), Saunier Duval
5. Samuel Sanchez (Sp), Euskaltel-Euskadi
6. Mauricio Ardila (Col), Davitamon-Lotto
7. Erik Zabel (G), T-Mobile
8. Pablo Lastras (Sp), Illes Balears
9. Thomas Ziegler (G), Gerolsteiner
10. Roberto Heras (Sp), Liberty Seguros
FullResults

What knee?

Photo: Graham Watson

Overall
1. Roberto Heras (Sp), Liberty Seguros, 65:28:36
2. Denis Menchov (Rus), Rabobank, 4:30
3. Carlos Sastre (Sp), CSC, 4:50
4. Francisco Mancebo (Sp), Illes Balears, 6:45
5. Carlos Garcia Quesada (Sp), ECV, 8:02
6. Oscar Sevilla (Sp), T-Mobile, 11:16
7. Ruben Plaza (Sp), ECV, 11:39
8. Tom Danielson (USA), Discovery Channel, 12:15
9. Juan Miguel Mercado (Sp), Quickstep, 13:32
10. Santos Gonzalez (Sp), Phonak, 14:20
FullResults