Petacchi punches self out

Petacchi finished stage 15 to Almussafes but was so angry he did not win the sprint that he vented his frustration on the door of the Team Milram bus and fractured the top of the fifth metacarpal on his right hand.

The fracture means Petacchi, who broke his kneecap during stage three of the Giro d'Italia in May and missed the Tour de France in July, will not be able to continue in the three-week Tour of Spain.

"I know I've done something stupid but I did it because I was very angry after having a real chance of winning for the first time for months," Petacchi said in a statement issued by his Milram team.

"I want to apologise to my team mates and team managers but I was so angry I couldn't control myself. There's no doubt I've made a mistake but I'm a human being, I'm not a machine."

The riders enjoy a second rest day on Monday and the final week of racing starts on Tuesday with the 145-km 16th stage from Almeria to the Astronomical Observatory of Calar Alto.