Alessandro Petacchi tells La Gazzetta dello Sport he wants to race for two more years

Italian sprinter Alessandro Petacchi has said he wants to continue racing for two more years, even though he is fast approaching his 38th birthday.

The Lampre rider, a winner of the points classification at all three grand tours, told La Gazzetta dello Sport that he asks himself whether he should continue but is ready to keep going.

“Sometimes I ask myself. It’s the passion, I’m totally serious about this sport, 110 percent,” he said.

Petacchi has won six Tour de France stages in his his career, 22 in the Giro d’Italia and 20 in the Vuelta a España.

He was suspended for a year after testing positive for the banned substance salbutamol in the 2007 Giro. He had clearance to use the asthma drug, but not in the amounts indicated by the test.