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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
Getting ready for the Classics
April 17, 2003
Hi Cyclingnews friends,
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While I have been getting ready for the primary classics for me this season, I also rode the Tour of the Basque Country (a race I really like since my first year as a pro, I was second on GC behind Kloden). I would have to say that when I go to race in Spain, I really look forward to it because I like the aggressive style of racing there and the interesting courses. Plus there is usually good weather in Spain.
At the Basque Tour, it was a week where I was trying to find the right rhythm in the race and not take any risks at all; in fact, I skipped the last stage which was a final time trial on a cold, rainy day hard on a twisting, dangerous course.
When I got back home to Italy, I started my final preparation for the Ardennes Classics with three different training sessions. Monday I went out by myself for a long, tough ride in the Italian spring sunshine. I had four sandwiches, some maltodextrin tablets for energy and a lot of determination. I left home in Spoltore at 9:30am and came back home at 4:30pm after a 220km ride with over 70km of climbing. I was tired but happy at the way things went; I rode on some my favorite home roads in Abruzzo like the Passo Lanciano and Passo Palombaro.
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Tuesday I just went easy on a recuperation ride, departing home at 10am and came back home two hours later. Later that day, my personal masseur Antonio Salvi came by to give my a great rub and for an hour, his magic fingers helped me recover and get back my strength. Here's a big shout out to Antonio!
Wednesday I hit the road with two other local pros; both good riders. One was Ruggero Marzoli from Alessio, who lives in my town and the other was Simone Masciarelli from Vini Caldirola. We went pretty hard on a mixed course for 4 and a half hours and I felt good... so now I think I'm ready for the the Ardennes classics. Only the next week or so will tell for sure!
A presto!
Danilo Di Luca
[Danilo was third in Sunday's Amstel Gold Race. - Ed]
