By Shane Stokes
Following his strong performance in last year's Giro d'Italia, Liquigas team leader Danilo Di Luca has shown that if he gets things right, he can be a contender in Grand Tours. Although his attempt to win this year's Tour of Italy didn't work out, he has the necessary ability to climb and time trial well enough to chase success here in Spain.
However, as top domestique Charly Wegelius said this morning, it is not yet sure what the Italian's aims are in the race. "Danilo is riding good but he is going to decide as he is going along what he is going to do in the race, with regards to the worlds. He might go for the classification, he might not do it. He might do it and then decide to switch off. The worlds is his big goal. Of course, that has quite a big effect on the race I ride."
The Briton said that it is difficult to tell how you are going early on in this event. "The Vuelta is good but these first few days are always a bit confusing, in terms of understanding what your body is telling you. We have been hanging around the hotel for four or five days, which we don't usually do. Some people feel really good the first few days and some people feel really bad. It is not indicative of how you are going to go. After the fifth stage, things will be a bit clearer and maybe some breakaways will go away and stick then, because until that point it is not really going to happen."
