Liquigas with the "Killer"

The "Killer" will be returning to the scene of the "crime" - twelve months after his victory, Danilo Di Luca will show himself again on the Côtes of the Ardennes in La Flèche Wallonne. On Wednesday, April 19, the winner of the 2005 ProTour will start his short northern campaign, which will only include Flèche and, next Sunday, Liège-Bastogne-Liège.

But Di Luca does not come to Belgium with the same potential than last year. "I decided to focus all my season on the Giro d’Italia," said Di Luca. "If I said to be in the same good condition of the last year, I would tell a lie: my preparation aims at reaching top fitness in one month. I think of Liège-Bastogne-Liège rather than tomorrow’s Flèche Wallonne. It’s difficult to make a prognostic, as I will discover only during the race if it is possible to have ambitions. However, I think that the role of team leader belongs to Stefano Garzelli. Stefano has been riding well for weeks now: I expect he'll race a great Flèche Wallonne."