Loddo leaps to victory ahead of Petacchi

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Alberto Loddo (Androni-Giocattoli) rocketed to his third win of the year with victory in the fifth and final stage of the Giro di Sardegna on Saturday.

The Italian unleashed a powerful sprint to come past rival Alessandro Petacchi (Lampre-Farnese Vini) in the closing metres of the stage, while Oscar Gatto (ISD-Neri) finished the best of the rest in third.

The stage had been largely controlled by Liquigas-Doimo, who were determined to defend Roman Kreuziger's overall lead. The Italian squad's efforts were eventually rewarded with the desired result as the Czech held on to claim the general classification by two seconds over Chris Horner (RadioShack) and Thomas Voeckler (BBox Bouygues Telecom).

"It’s a team victory that shows how united we are in our ambition to be a protagonist at all races," said Kreuziger, whose win was his first overall title since last year's Tour de Romandie. "This will allow us to gain many more results during this season."

I wanted to know the reaction of my legs after all the hard work I'd been doing," he continued. "Apart from tiredness, I’m happy for my condition. Feelings got better day by day and now I feel ready to face Paris-Nice with ambition."

Directeur sportif Stefano Zanatta said the team's performance in Italy bodes well for Kreuziger and Nibali ahead of Tirreno-Adriatico and Paris-Nice. "The Giro di Sardegna was a useful test and both [Kreuziger and Nibali] did well here. They've worked to gain race rhythm and to refine the condition; I’m sure they can run as protagonists."