Last chance before Milan

The Stage 15 arrival in Brescia is a one-kilometre long straight shot to the centre of town past the Palazzo Della Loggia, ideal for a mass-sprint.

But up to this point Bettini has been foiled in each of his sprint attempts in this year's Giro, first by Robbie McEwen and more recently by Thomas Vaitkus.

Australia's McEwen, who won the first three sprint finishes of this year's Giro D'Italia, pulled out of the race this weekend after suffering from stomach pains, however.

Also boding well for Bettini is the absence of Milram sprint-king Alessandro Petacchi, who injured his left knee in a stage three crash and was forced to withdraw in the race's first week. Vaitkus (AG2R) has also since retired.

While T-Mobile sprinter Olaf Pollack is still a threat to Bettiini, the Olympic champion has the benefit of wearing the Maglia Ciclamino for leading the point classifications.

Bettini, winner of the Maglia Ciclaminio in 2005, has finished third, fourth, and twice second at this year's race, but he is yet to claim a stage-win.

Though the flat voyage from Mergozzo to Brescia could be conducive to another long break-away, similar to that in Sunday's mountain stage, Brescia has historically been friendly to Italian sprinters.

The last time Brescia hosted a Tour of Italy finish-line was in 2002 when Mario Cipollini won the 39th of his record 42 Giro stage wins, claiming victory in a mass sprint in front of compatriot Alessandro Petacchi.