Italian Alessandro Petacchi sprinted home on the third stage of the Vuelta a Andalucía, leading from compatriots Giovanni Visconti of Quick Step and Riccardo Ricco of Saunier Duval.

The winning group crossed the line in 4:29.37 at the end of the 174-kilometre stage from Otura to Jaen.

Spain's Pablo Lastras of Caisse d'Epargne was sixth behind Belgian Greg van Avermaet (Silence-Lotto) and another Spaniard Javier Moreno (Andalucía-Cajasur).

Lastras now leads the overall classification from previous leader Frenchman Clement l'Hotellerie (Skil-Shimano) by 48 seconds.

Petacchi's stage win was his second of the year following victory in the GP Etruschi in Italy.

Cadel Evans, winner of the previous stage, is still third, a minute-and-a-half behind.

Stage four of five runs from La Guardia de Jaen to Ecija on Wednesday and is 173.5km long.

STAGE TWO

ProTour champion Cadel Evans claimed a break-away victory in the second stage of the Vuelta a Andalucía.

The only other sprinter to get off the mark so far is Thor Hushovd, who won the opening stage of the Tour of the Mediterranean last week.

The 31-year-old Australian star topped the podium after 176 kilometres of riding beginning in Torrox Costa and finishing with a summit finish in La Zubia.

The Tour de France runner-up beat out Spaniards Mikel Astarloza and Juan Manuel Gárate in the final climb to win his first stage of the season.

Frenchman Clément Lhotellerie claims the overall lead from José Antonio López finishing 11th at 56 seconds behind Evans.

Pablo Lastras Garcia is now second overall at 51 seconds back after finishing sixth at 15 seconds behind the Australian, while Evans is now third overall at two minutes and 23 seconds behind the race leader.

Previous leader Lopez pays the price for not participating in the 18-man break-away that went clear 30-km into Monday's stage, dropping to 15th overall after finishing a full six minutes and six seconds behind Evans.

STAGE ONE

José Antonio López won the opening stage of the Vuelta a Andalucia.

Clement L'Hottelerie of Skil-Shimano finished in second place and Pablo Lastras of Caisse d'Epargne came in third.

Spaniard Lopez, riding for the local Andalucia-CajaSur team, won the 123.4 kilometre stage, which runs from Benahavis to Álora.

The 31-year-old took advantage of L'Hottelerie's drop in pace in the final stages to claim the overall lead in the five-stage event, also known as the Ruta del Sol.

López, professional since 2003, will wear the leader's jersey when the race continues tomorrow with a 176.2-kilometre stage from Torrox Costa to La Zubia.

Eurosport