Liquigas starts Settimana Lombardia with win

Liquigas enjoyed a successful start to the Settimana Lombardia Thursday when they took the 3km team time trial stage win, their seventh victory of the year, and put Francesco Falli into the leader's jersey.

Liquigas won today by three seconds over Team Barloworld in the opener which ran from Bergamo Centro to Città Alta. The six rider team included Falli, Magnus Backstedt, Eros Capecchi, Dario Cataldo, Roman Kreuziger, and Alessandro Vanotti. Falli got the jersey because he was the first rider on the squad to cross the line.

"Our group is competitive and strongly united: we proved it in such occasions," said team manager Mario Scirea. "Even thought they didn't have great reference points, since Liquigas was one of the first team to start (the fifth one), the guys have raced fast since the beginning." Scirea noted especially Backstedt's performance. "The team veteran sacrificed himself for the group racing at full stretch in the first thousand metres."

Racing continues Friday with the 146.1km Stage 2 starting and finishing in Vertova - Vertova.