Danilo Di Luca (Liquigas) has shone in the first mountain stage of the Vuelta that finished on top...
Danilo Di Luca (Liquigas) (Image credit: AFP)
Di Luca finds his legs
Danilo Di Luca (Liquigas) has shone in the first mountain stage of the Vuelta that finished on top of the 18.4 km climb to La Covatilla. Di Luca beat the young Slovenian talent Janez Brajkovic (Discovery), with Andrey Kashechkin (Astana) taking third at seven seconds. The general classification changed as a result, with the first three in the stage also occupying the first three positions on GC.
"I wanted to win a stage at the Vuelta: my mission is fulfilled," said Di Luca. "Now, I’m going to focus on the world championships in Salzburg. The day after my forced withdrawal from the Tour de France, I told technical director Ballerini that I wanted to do my best for racing the World's. Ballerini asked me for a clear sign: here it is. I’m not aiming at the general ranking of the Vuelta because there are riders, like Valverde and Sastre, who had trained especially for this race and, starting from stage nine on, they will be in peak form."
The 178 km stage was run in cooler conditions than in recent days. The first climb up to the Puerto de Piornal saw a large group of 16 riders go clear, including Michael Rasmussen (Rabobank), David Arroyo (Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears), Vladimir Gusev (Discovery), Iñigo Landaluze (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Sergio Paulinho (Astana Team) and Paolo Bettini (Quick Step-Innergetic). The group gained a maximum of four and a half minutes as first CSC, then Caisse d'Epargne, led the chase.
The break split on the Alto de Lagunilla with 40 km to go, and over the top, Iñigo Landaluze made a solo bid for victory. But his move came too early, and he was caught a few kilometres into the last climb. Paulinho and Arroyo survived until 5 km to go as the peloton broke into small groups. Danilo Di Luca attacked with 3 km left, with Brajkovic on his wheel, and the pair bridged across and eventually dropped Jose Angel Gomez Marchante, who had been leading for a few km. Di Luca's superior speed won him the stage from Brajkovic, and a resurgent Kashechkin was third.
