Alessandro Petacchi (Fassa Bortolo) has won his second straight stage of the Giro. Petacchi outsprinted Isaac Galvez (Kelme) and Jan Svorada (Lampre) to take Stage 6, a 218-km ride from Maddaloni to Avezzano, in 5:11:52. Petacchi remains the maglia rosa.

From the start, the pace was fast. After a number of abortive sallies, Cristian Moreni (Alessio) attacked at 49 km, and Magnus Backstedt (Team Fakta) and Constantino Zaballa (Kelme) joined him. The trio's lead maxed out at 7:45 before the field began to chase.

Fassa Bortolo, Lotto, and Domina Vacanze led the pursuit. The escapees' lead was down to about 3:00 when they crossed the finish line in Avezzano for the first time (179 km). The bunch picked up the pace and cut the fugitives' advantage to 1:18 with 20 km remaining. Twelve km later, the bunch absorbed the break.

With five km left, Domina Vacanze took over at the front. The field split, and a lead group of ten formed. Giovanni Lombardi (Domina Vacanze) led out teammate Mario Cipollini, who sat up right after beginning his sprint. Galvez vaulted into the lead, but Petacchi overtook him for the win.

In the overall, Petacchi leads Stefano Garzelli (Vini Caldirola) by 1:09 and Francesco Casagrande (Lampre) by 1:27. Stage 7, the 2003 Giro's first mountain stage, should see someone take the maglia rosa from Petacchi. The 146-km ride from Avezzano to Terminillo will end with a long climb. Who will don the maglia rosa tomorrow? Garzelli? Casagrande? Gilberto Simoni (Saeco)? Check in at http://www.roadcycling.com/ and find out!

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