Di Luca: “It’s not over. Where is Liquigas?"

BOLOGNA, 23 May 2009 – The man in pink had added another notch to his bicycle driven on by a great heat. Eight days from the conclusion in Rome, Denis Menchov has passed the first test without great difficulties. They had promised him a great battle on the slope at 16% worthy of sanctuaries of the Northern races, and at the end he fought them all off, causing some of the other racers to lose time.


DIVIDED AGAINST THE ENEMY — "It’s not over; there’s still room to attack. The only thing that worries me is the team wasting its energy," observes Danilo Di Luca, who whipped his team-mates ahead in the attempt to catch up to Gerrans and Bertogliati’s sprint. The point, which is not unimportant, is that the attack on Menchov was started practically only by him. "I wonder what happened to Liquigas,” the Italian continued. Didn’t they say they were going to attack?" Pellizotti’s answer, "It’s normal for it to go that way, Danilo is the strongest on these finishes. I couldn’t exactly bring him to the foot of the climb so he could get the time bonus!" The others aren’t laughing. Today’s defeated racers also include Levi Leipheimer, who lost 3 seconds, like Ivan Basso (- 6 for Rogers).


THE MAN IN PINK — Denis Menchov gained a lot of confidence. "I stayed right behind Danilo. I knew that he was determined to do well on this stage. There are teams that will work hard over the next few days, but if he wants to win, Di Luca has to attack on Monte Petrano on Monday".


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