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Associated Press 18y

Dutch rider Dekker wins Tirreno-Adriatico race

SAN BENEDETTO DEL TRONTO, Italy -- Promising Dutch rider
Thomas Dekker captured the weeklong Tirreno-Adriatico cycling race Tuesday.

Dekker kept his 14-second lead in the overall standings to win
in 27 hours, 32 minutes, 14 seconds. Germany's Joerg Jaksche was
second and Italy's Alessandro Ballan was third, 20 seconds back.

The top U.S. finishers were George Hincapie (eighth) and Tom
Danielson (10th), both riding for Discovery Channel.

Dekker, considered a future Tour de France threat, had to change
a wheel midway through the final stage. His teammates waited for
him and helped him rejoin the pack. Dekker set up his win by
finishing third in Sunday's 12.4-mile individual time trial.

Alessandro Petacchi won the final stage in a sprint finish and is favored to retain his title in Saturday's Milan-San Remo classic.

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