Petacchi satisfied with Qatar

By Susan Westemeyer

Alessandro Petacchi is satisfied with his first race of the season, the Tour of Qatar. "I felt good during the whole race and got my self-confidence back. That is the most important thing."

On the team's website, www.team-milram.de, he said that "it was a good feeling" to be able to finish the Tour. Making it through all the stages "after all the bad luck of last season it gives me the feeling that I am finally back."

He didn't win any stages in the race, but couldn't complain about the support he got from his teammates. "I never doubted my team's support. They are all very strong. They prepared my sprints well so that I came in second in three stages. So I think they did their job well."

The Italian sprinter particularly praised newcomer Marcel Sieberg. "Marcel is still young but he has already shown that he has lots of possibilities."

Petacchi also paid tribute to rival Tom Boonen, saying that right now he is "more explosive than I am. I haven't ridden any real sprints in nearly nine months. I have to get used to it again." He added, "I have to get back the self-confidence that makes it possible for me to start the sprint at the right moment, and I have to be have the power that makes that possible. I think that the more races I ride, the more of those qualities I will have."