The 39th Settimana Lombarda stage race starts today in Brignano, Italy, with a strong Italian field. Danilo Di Luca, 2007 Giro d'Italia winner, will defend his title against Gilberto Simoni, Davide Rebellin and Giovanni Visconti.
There are 25 teams and 194 riders slated to start in the northern Italy stage race (held in the Lombardia region). Alessandro Petacchi, Francesco Ginanni and Coppi e Bartali stage winners Danilo Napolitano and Yuri Mitlushenko should head the sprint stages.
