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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
San Remo...it was one of my main objectives this season
March 24, 2003
Hi Cyclingnews friends,
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This week started bad with the cancelled stage at Tirreno - Adriatico; it was going to be the best stage of the race with the steep Muro di Ortezzano climb for the finale. It continued with a kind of bitter-sweet win, but I ended up losing the classifica finale at Tirreno-Adriatico to Pozzato because of sprint time bonuses - no way a Hors Category race should be sprint time bonuses!
Then, my week finished in the worst way possible on the descent of the Poggio of Milano-San Remo.
I thought that the race went perfectly for me. We caught the break after the Cipressa and then my teammate Alexander Shefer did a great job and gave me a huge pull so I could make my attack on the steep part of the Poggio. I started really strong, but there was a headwind and I worked so hard that I just ran out of gas...
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At the top of the Poggio, Paolini, Bettini and Celestino caught me. I didn't even have time to catch my breath and we just flew down into San Remo. I screwed up a corner and the three riders gapped me. They made it all the way to the finish line but I ended up getting caught by the group. So my San Remo ended when we hit the flats, but I'll be back next year to resume the battle for la Classicissima di Primavera!
Next Stop Flanders...
a presto!
Danilo Di Luca
