Sprinters run out of gas in Giro's Stage 6 finish

Just 10 more pedal strokes. That's all Alessandro Petacchi needed in his legs to win the Stage 6 sprint of the Giro d'Italia on Thursday.

But after 134 miles in the saddle and a grueling climb to the finish in Fiuggi, he didn't have it.

Francisco Ventosa, at left, did. Attacking with about 500 yards to go, the Movistar sprinter drove until the end. It was the 29-year-old's fifth win this season.

Petacchi had taken his wheel in the sprint, came around and pulled even with him. Then he looked across at Ventosa, stopped pedaling, and coasted across the finish line in second place.

Weening in pink

Rabobank's Pieter Weening remained in the overall leader's pink jersey after Stage 6, sitting just 2 seconds ahead of Kanstantsin Sivtsov of HTC-Columbia.

The 216km bike race from Orvieto to Fiuggi crossed the rolling foothills of the Apennines. Although there was little flat terrain, the only mountain was a Category 4 climb.

A five-man breakaway stayed out front most of the day. After two dropped back, Kristof Vandewalle attacked the remaining cyclists and survived off the front until the final mile on the hill leading into the town of Fiuggi.

Jerseys

Vandewalle was captured by a hard-charging group led by Garmin-Cervelo's David Millar, who didn't play a role in the final sprint. The Lampre leadout man Danilo Hondo took control of the sprint, but Petacchi couldn't find his wheel.

Petacchi did remain in the red sprint jersey after the race, and Martin Kohler of BMC retained the green mountains jersey. Steven Kruijswijk of Rabobank leads the young rider competition.

Top 10 leaders overall