Stage 15 wrap-up: Bettini makes the most of his chance

Yeah, that was good...Paolo Bettini celebrates (Image credit: Sirotti)

After several opportunities in the Giro so far, Paolo Bettini (Quick.Step) has finally triumphed in a stage, winning the 15th leg in Brescia in a bunch sprint. Bettini was pushed all the way to the line by German Olaf Pollack (T-Mobile), but in the end he got it by a rim. In third place was Robert Forster (Gerolsteiner). There were no changes to the GC, and Ivan Basso and his CSC team enjoyed a fairly easy day in the back seat behind the Quick.Step, T-Mobile, and Milram drivers.

The dead flat stage was perfect for the sprinters, even if both Alessandro Petacchi and Robbie McEwen are no longer in the Giro. After 23 km, a group of four riders got clear with Christophe Edaleine (Credit Agricole), Ivan Mayoz (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Gustav Larsson (Francaise des Jeux) and Gabriele Missaglia (Selle Italia) becoming the day's protagonists. But after riding out to a maximum lead of 5'15 after 80 km, the peloton controlled the situation until 9 km to go, when the four were brought back. The sprint saw Milram leading it out for Ongarato, before Robert Forster jumped early. Bettini and Pollack were quick to react, and it was Bettini who got the win by a small margin.