Fifth victory of the season for the Liquigas Team

After a superb victory at the 'Milano - Torino' and after being forced to pull out of the 'Milano - Sanremo' due to a troublesome flu virus, Danilo Di Luca is back to success.

His victory in the third stage of the 'Settimana Internazionale Coppi & Bartali', 165 km from Scandiano to Serramazzoni, was secured by a final sprint, followed by the home champion Riccardo Riccò who excelled at the recent 'Tirreno - Adriatico', and Poland's Alexander Efimkin.

It is the fifth victory of the season for the blue-green team following the two consecutive wins by Pozzato (Tour du Haut Var and Het Volk), Di Luca's success at the 'Milano - Torino' and Pellizotti's stage win at the 'Parigi - Nizza'.

Riccò's Saunier Duval re-assembled the group as early on as halfway through the race, after the attack by the breakaway Raffaele Illiano. Liquigas sprang into action in the last 10 kilometers, at the foot of the climb that leads to Serramazzoni. It was especially thanks to a dynamic Andrea Noè, who held back the opponents' attacks, that Di Luca was able to gain his sprint victory over the thirty or so racers.

«I am satisfied with this victory, most of all because it is a sure sign of recovery. We had set ourselves the goal of winning a stage» comments Di Luca. «The physical form is not up to the standard of the 'Milano - Torino', but what counts now is to make up for the time lost because of the flu and come out of this competition with a good result». The Killer makes it no secret: «Today marks the start of the run-up to the Amstel Gold Race, Freccia Vallone and Liege».