The Milram man avoided a nasty collision between Alexandre Usov and Lloyd Mondory, which also put paid to the challenge of world champion Paolo Bettini, and held off the challenge of Panaria Cermica’s Maximiliano Richeze over the final 100 metres.

Petacchi now moves level with Francesco Moser on 23 Giro stage wins throughout his career, though is still some way short of Mario Cipollini's formidable total of 42.

With the peloton still recovering from Wednesday's torturous finish on the Monte Zoncolan, stage 18 was always likely to be a quiet one, and so it proved.

After a failed attempt from Leonardo Scarselli, Marco Marzano, Koos Moerenhout and Ricardo Serrano to escape the field, a group of seven put their foot down with greater conviction, and moved away.

Franck Renier, Mikhail Ignatiev, Maxim Gourov, Addy Engels, Vila Errandonea, Horrillo Munoz and Eric Berthou soon built up a lead of two minutes over the rest of the field, though were unable to stretch their advantage beyond the 2'30” mark.

With Saunier Duval, Milram and Credit Agricole taking turns at the front of the peloton, the escapees were comfortably kept in check, and despite the quartet of Renier, Gourov, Berthou and Engels staging one last attack with 20 kilometres to go, they were swallowed up on midway through the second loop around Riese.

Quickstep's Matteo Tossato then moved to the front of the pack preparing to launch Bettini with two kilometres to go, before Liquigas' Vincenzo Nibali, hitherto quiet in this Giro, decided to try to jump the field.

Ag2r's duo of Usov and Mondory then misjudged the final corner with 800 metres to go, and went skidding alarmingly into the crash barriers, causing Bettini to swerve to avoid them, and thus lose his momentum.

Petacchi remained untroubled though, and launched an early sprint, hotly pursued by Richeze. The Panaria man was perfectly poised on his wheel to make a last burst for the line, but Petacchi proved too strong to overhaul.