Alessandro Petacchi (Fassa Bortolo) has taken his sixth stage win of this year's Giro. Petacchi nipped Jan Svorada (Lampre) and Giovanni Lombardi (Domina Vacanze) to take the flat, 117-km ride from Salice Terme to Asti in 2:39:17. Gilberto Simoni (Saeco) remains the maglia rosa.

A stage as short as today's was going to be ridden quickly. At 30 km, a break that included Gianpaolo Mondini (Domina Vacanze), Jordi Riera Valls (Kelme), Giuseppe Muraglia (Formaggio Pinzolo Fiave) Ruber Alvario Marin (Selle Italia), and Martin Hvastija (Tenax) rolled off of the front. Hvastija dropped his companions and ran up a 2:30 lead before the peloton began to chase.

At 53 km, Fassa Bortolo went to the front. At about 75 km, the field reeled in Hvastija. Thirteen km later, Julian Usano Martinez (Kelme) and Luis Laverde Jimenez (Formaggio Pinzolo Fiave) attacked. The peloton brought back the pair quickly. At 92 km, Alexis Rodriguez (Kelme) and Hector Mesa (Formaggio Pinzolo Fiave) attacked. Rodriguez dropped Mesa and forged an 18-second lead on the field. The bunch, led by Fassa Bortolo and Saeco, caught Rodriguez with about 15 km left.

In the closing km, Fassa Bortolo, La Francaise des Jeux.com, Domina Vacanze, Gerolsteiner, and Alessio fought for control of the field. Domina Vacanze led the field into the last km. Petacchi surged into the lead. Svorada made up a lot of ground but finished half a bike length behind the Fassa Bortolo rider.

In the overall, Simoni leads Stefano Garzelli (Vini Caldirola) by 1:58 and Yaroslav Popovych (Landbouwkrediet) by 4:05. Stage 18 will be a standing shaker. The 175-km ride from Santuorio Vico to Chianale will feature three major climbs, including the finishing ascent. Will Simoni add to his lead? Will Garzelli, Popovych, and others overtake the Saeco rider? Check in at http://www.roadcycling.com/ and find out!

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Stage 17 results:
1 Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Fassa Bortolo    02:39:47
2 Jan Svorada (Cze) Lampre
3 Giovanni Lombardi (Ita) Domina Vacanze-Elitron
4 Angelo Furlan (Ita) Alessio
5 Werner Riebenbauer (Aut) Team fakta-Pata Chips
6 Jimmy Casper (Fra) FDJeux.com
7 Raffaele Illiano (Ita) Colombia-Selle Italia
8 Giuseppe Palumbo (Ita) De Nardi-Colpack
9 Robert Forster (Ger) Gerolsteiner
10 Andrus Aug (Est) De Nardi-Colpack
11 Fabiano Fontanelli (Ita) Mercatone Uno - Scanavino
12 Paolo Lanfranchi (Ita) Ceramiche Panaria-Fiordo
13 Magnus Backstedt (Swe) Team fakta-Pata Chips
14 Dario Pieri (Ita) Team Saeco
15 Constantino Zaballa Gutierez (Spa) Kelme-Costa Blanca
16 Vladimir Duma (Ukr) Landbouwkrediet-Colnago
17 Daniele Pietropolli (Ita) Tenax
18 Lorenzo Bernucci (Ita) Landbouwkrediet-Colnago
19 Bernhard Eisel (Aut) FDJeux.com
20 Graziano Gasparre (Ita) De Nardi-Colpack
21 Johan Verstrepen (Bel) Landbouwkrediet-Colnago
22 Moreno Di Biase (Ita) Formaggi Pinzolo Fiave
23 Juilian Winn (GBr) Team fakta-Pata Chips
24 Aitor Gonzalez Jimenez (Spa) Fassa Bortolo
25 Marco Velo (Ita) Fassa Bortolo

Overall rankings after stage 17:
1 Gilberto Simoni (Ita) Team Saeco    74:01:13
2 Stefano Garzelli (Ita) Vini Caldirola-SO.DI                1.58
3 Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr) Landbouwkrediet-Colnago            4.05
4 Andrea Noe' (Ita) Alessio                                  5.16
5 Raimondas Rumsas (Ltu) Lampre                              6.11
6 Francesco Casagrande (Ita) Lampre                          6.47
7 Georg Totschnig (Aut) Gerolsteiner                         6.57
8 Serguei Gontchar (Ukr) De Nardi-Colpack                    9.38
9 Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Alessio                            9.42
10 Marco Pantani (Ita) Mercatone Uno - Scanavino            10.11
11 Massimo Codol (Ita) Mercatone Uno - Scanavino            12.16
12 Wladimir Belli (Ita) Lampre                              12.35
13 Dario Frigo (Ita) Fassa Bortolo                          12.45
14 Dariusz Baranowski (Pol) CCC-Polsat                      13.50
15 Michele Scarponi (Ita) Domina Vacanze-Elitron            14.23
16 Aitor Gonzalez Jimenez (Spa) Fassa Bortolo               15.32
17 Eddy Mazzoleni (Ita) Vini Caldirola-SO.DI                15.59
18 Marco Velo (Ita) Fassa Bortolo                           18.08
19 Julio A. Perez Cuapio (Mex) Ceramiche Panaria-Fiordo     18.14
20 Marzio Bruseghin (Ita) Fassa Bortolo                     19.25
21 Kim Kirchen (Lux) Fassa Bortolo                          19.52
22 Leonardo Bertagnolli (Ita) Team Saeco                    20.07
23 Sandy Casar (Fra) FDJeux.com                             20.14
24 Giuliano Figueras (Ita) Ceramiche Panaria-Fiordo         21.16
25 Gianni Faresin (Ita) Gerolsteiner                        22.52