Gavazzi wins 18th stage of Tour of Spain

Italian cyclist Francesco Gavazzi hung close to the wheel of Kristof Vandewalle before sliding up the inside on the final stretch of a sprint finish to pass his Belgian opponent and win the stage in 4 hours, 24 minutes, 42 seconds for Lampre-ISD.The next seven cyclists all crossed the finish 10 seconds behind while the main group that included Juan Jose Cobo and his closest challenger Christopher Froome of Britain crossed 7:42 back.Cobos overall lead on the Sky rider remained 13 seconds while Froomes British teammate Bradley Wiggins was next closest at 1:41 behind.Fridays 158.5 kilometre (98.5 miles) stage will take the riders from Noja to Bilbao the first time in 33 years the Spanish classic has raced in the Basque Country.The 66th edition of the event continues in the north coast region on Saturday before the 21st and final stage wraps with the traditional finish in Madrid on Sunday.Organizers announced Thursday that the 67th edition would start from Pamplona, the city best known for its annual Running of the Bulls festival in early July.