Fassa Bortolo’s Juan-Antonio Flecha took advantage of a the ongoing World Cup duel between series leader Davide Rebellin and his nearest challenger, Olympic champion Paolo Bettini, to charge out of the field in the final meters of Sunday’s 241km event in Zürich, Switzerland.

Bettini, who finished second in the Zürich Championships, has now moved to within six points of leader Rebellin, after eight rounds of the 10-race series.

The Gerolsteiner rider figured in the final break and now stands on 314 points to Bettini's 308, with Rabobank's Oscar Freire a distant third with 198 points.

With only two World Cup classics left, Paris-Tours and the Tour of Lombardy, the overall title contest is likely to come down to the two Italians. Bettini and Rebellin kept tabs on each other all day with Il Grillo making the most of the hectic final descent into Zürich on the 42km circuit.

Reigning Dutch champion Erik Dekker (Rabobank)set the tone with a solo break with less than 2 kilometres to go. He was caught, however, within the final kilometer, opening the door for Flecha to charge out of the field, triggering a free-for-all in which Brioches La Boulangère Jérome Pineau finished third.

U.S. Postal’s David Zabriskie and Carlos Barredo (Liberty Seguros) made the day’s early break, attacking at 10km and remaining off the front – with a lead that peaked at more than 20 minutes – before being reeled in with just 36km remaining.

Bettini looked determined to boost his Olympic road race gold medal he won in Athens last week with yet another World Cup victory. But as on so many occasions this year, the two-time winner and defending champion of the series found himself usurped at the finish line.

After a series of futile attacks in the final few kilometers, in the home straight Bettini found himself stuck behind Flecha, and Canadian Michael Barry (U.S. Postal)o, who had been trying to prepare the final for his team leader George Hincapie, who eventually came in eighth.

Bettini tried to work his way round the pair but the 30-year-old Italian's drive for the line proved too little too late and all he could manage was second place behind Argentine-born Flecha, who thus picks up his first World Cup victory.