Furlan wins stage 16

Italian rider Angelo Furlan (Alessio) surprised stage favourites Erik Zabel (Telekom) and Alessandro Petacchi (Fassa Bortolo) and sprinted to victory in stage 17 of the Vuelta on Wednesday. As expected, Roberto Heras (US Postal) conserved the golden leader's jersey.

RE-LIVE: Vuelta stage 17 as it happened!

One day before the final difficult mountain stage in the 2002 Vuelta, riders contented themselves with a flat, 146-kilometre-long ride from Benavente to Salamanca.

The stage's pace was primarily dictated by the sprinters' teams, namely Fassa Bortolo for Petacchi and Deutsche Telekom for Zabel. With a first hour speed of 52km per hour thanks to strong crosswinds, it wasn't surprising that riders were unable to attack.

However, once the pace and erratic winds settled, riders took their turns to escape but each attempt amounted to nothing. Once the mass march began towards the finish, with the final 3km featuring some slight climbing, it was all about Fassa Bortolo and Telekom riders getting into position in the pack.

Yet the battle that was expected between Zabel and Petacchi never had a chance to materialise as the motivated German took off too early. As Petacchi immediately responded, it was no wonder that both riders ran out of gas before the finish line, providing a perfect opportunity for Furlan.

The 24-year-old Alessio rider, claiming his first career win, crossed the finish line in two hours and 58 minutes. Zabel finished second while Petacchi, winner of stage 12, took third.

Despite increasing his lead in the sprint jersey classification, Zabel's hunt for a stage win at this year's Vuelta once again ended in frustration, taking his fourth second place of the race so far. The Telekom rider is quickly running out of chances to clinch his first victory.

Finishing safely in the peloton, race leader Heras remains on top of the general classification with a 35" lead over Aitor Gonzalez and a 1'08" advantage over Oscar Sevilla, both representing Spain and the Kelme team.

While stage 17 was far from being the most difficult in the 2002 Vuelta, Thursday's stage will be one the riders will remember. Featuring four categorised climbs including a difficult summit finish in Estación de la Covatilla (Béjar), stage 18 will undoubtedly take its toll on the overall standings.