Damiano Cunego played the role of faithful super-domestique to Gilberto Simoni in stage 17, helping the Lampre-Caffita team leader to move up from third to second on general classification. "[Directeur sportif Giuseppe] Martinelli told me to lead the bunch on the Colletto del Moro climb to make selection into the bunch," said Cunego in a team statement. That reduced the peloton to 20 riders, with Simoni crossing the summit in second place behind Ivan Basso (CSC).
When a six-rider break got away on the last climb, Cunego rode tempo for Simoni until the the last 6km, when Simoni responded to an attack by Wim Van Huffel (Davitamon-Lotto), along with Rujano, and Garate. Cunego's previous assistance had left Simoni fresh enough to stay with Rujano to the finish, and the two took third and second respectively, just over a minute behind Ivan Basso. More importantly, Simoni gained 42 seconds on Savoldelli, 1:43 on Di Luca, and now looks like a serious threat to Savoldelli's maglia rosa.
