Petacchi wins his eighth!

VeloNews.com | Petacchi makes it eight

Alessandro Petacchi surprised no one today when he set the modern record for stage wins in a single Giro d'Italia. Petacchi edged Australia's Robbie McEwen and Germany's Olaf Pollack for the stage win.

Four riders were as much as 10 minutes ahead of the field early, but the Fassas brought them back to give Petacchi a shot at the record.

Yaroslav Popovych of Landbouwkrediet-Colnago retains the overall lead, but it's pretty much time for the climbers to take over, which Popovych thinks could happen as soon as tomorrow:

"It is the stage that I fear the most," said the 24-year-old, who holds a lead of 1:27 over defending Giro champion Gilberto Simoni. "I know I am going to be attacked and it is feasible that I will lose the maglia rosa. After that I will just take each stage as it comes."