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Ricco claims stage, lead at Tirreno-Adriatico
Italian Riccardo Ricco (Saunier Duval) claimed his second consecutive victory in Tirreno-Adriatico by winning the fourth stage of the race, held over 158.3 km between Pievobigliana and here Saturday.
Ricco also took over the race lead from Russian Alexander Areekev (Acqua e Sapone), who had claimed his own double on Thursday by winning the stage and claiming the lead.
Italian star Ivan Basso, meanwhile, was forced to pull out of the event, known as the "Race of the two seas", during Saturday's stage.
The Discovery Channel team leader had started despite injuring his left wrist in a crash on Friday. He underwent scans which showed there was no fracture. But after just 48km of racing, Basso, who hopes to win the Tour de France this year, decided the pain was too much and abandoned.
World champion Paolo Bettini (Quick Step-Innergetic) also had another bad day at work, crashing with 4km remaining.
