Petacchi returns in Veenendaal

Italian Sprinter Alessandro Petacchi will make his race return in the Dutch one-day Veenendaal-Veenendaal, tomorrow, June 13. The race was won by Tom Boonen in 2006, however, the Belgian sprinter will not be present due to his participation in the Dauphiné Libéré.

The 33 year-old Milram rider was last seen in action in the Giro d'Italia where he scored sprint victories from Cagliari to Milan, for a total of five wins, along with claiming the Maglia Ciclamino of points winner.

Yesterday, he showed off his purple jersey by winning a kermesse in Chieti (Abruzzo) over Giro's Maglia Rosa Danilo Di Luca.

Petacchi will use Veenendaal and Delta Profronde, June 16, to build for the Tour de France, which departs July 7 from London. Integrating in to Petacchi's train, with the Giro's Brett Lancaster and Mirco Lorenzetto, will be Elia Rigotto.