Dutch cyclist Max Van Heeswijk, left, won the 7th stage of the Vuelta a Espana, beating the likes of Erik Zabel (T-Mobile) and Tom Steels (Davitamon-Lotto).
The 131-mile race from Teruel to Vinaros covered rolling terrain, nothing like the mountains the past two days. It ended in a mass sprint led out by Fassa Bortolo, although its chief sprinter Alessandro Petacchi was nowhere to be seen (he had a puncture about 6 miles from the finish, according to VeloNews).
Roberto Heras, the three-time Vuelta winner riding for Liberty Seguros, maintained his overall lead. Full results are at CyclingNews.
Van Heeswijk, a 32-year-old cyclist on Lance Armstrong's Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team, has won 1 race this year, the 1st stage of the Tour of Benelux. In 2004 he won 13 races.
Beginning in 1994, the sprinter from the Netherlands has ridden for Motorola, Rabobank, Mapei, Domo Farm-Frites, and US Postal Service.
The sprinters must be looking forward to Saturday's 117-mile route between Tarragona and Lloret de Mar — it's flat.
Check out “Keeping up with the Vuelta a Espana '05” for websites that offer streaming video and live racing news.
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