Photo: © Aldo di Luca

Vai Dani! The Danilo Di Luca Diary

Italian speedster Danilo Di Luca from the Saeco-Longoni Sport Team is one of the sport's most exciting riders. Never afraid to attack and a very confident rider, Di Luca is at home in both hilly classics and bunch finishes. His first diary for Cyclingnews was during the 2002 the Vuelta a España, where he won a stage and had several top finishes. Di Luca will continue his popular diary entries throughout the 2003 season.

Danilo Di Luca's official website - www.danilodiluca.com

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First win and time for satisfaction

February 24, 2003

Hi you guys!

After five years as a pro, I've wiped out the zero and put a big "X" in the win column for time trial wins! That's right - at the Giro di Liguria, I finally won a time trial!

Dani's first TT win
Photo: © Sirotti

I blew my chance three years ago in the Giro dei Paesi Baschi when a really super Andreas Kloden beat me by only two seconds. So when I won the uphill TT in Liguria, that was totally another story!

I asked my direttore sportivo to only count my pedaling frequency on the climb; I wanted to keep the rhythm high and not think about the times of my main competitors after I crossed the finish line.

On the climb, I was using the 39 almost all the time and often the 21, but sometimes I put it in the 19, or the 23 on the steep parts. My pedaling frequency was great: 95 revolutions per minute. There was 7km of climbing and 3km of descending, but I didn't take any risks, so it all went well.

After this nice win in the Giro di Liguria where the team gave me a lot of support - especially Gilberto Simoni and Stefano Zanini who helped me control the race the day after the TT - I'm off to Spain to ride the Vuelta Valenciana, then back to Italy for two big races - Tirreno-Adriatico and Milano-San Remo.

See you soon!
Danilo Di Luca