VeloVeritas

Danilo Di Luca rewarded his hard-working teammates in the best way yesterday (Sunday) by racing a tactically perfect Liege-Bastogne-Liege and taking the win in front a first-class field.

Di Luca takes Liege.

"I’ve been dreaming of winning this race for nine years. This is the most beautiful and most difficult race that I have won” exclaimed Di Luca post-race.

With impeccable timing, Di Luca reacted to Frank Schleck’s attack on the descent of the Côte du Sart-Tilman. The two arrived at the base of the Côte de Saint-Nicolas with a ten second lead. With racers like Alejandro Valverde charging hard from behind, Di Luca jumped from Schleck to take the win.

Di Luca dedicated the impressive victory to his teammates, who showed the strength of Team Liquigas by having a man in all the important breaks, and chasing down the remnants of the late attacks.Di Luca was able to save himself by staying hidden in the 40-strong group late in the race.

The win moves Di Luca into third place in the ProTour rankings, behind Davide Rebellin and Valverde. Team Liquigas stays in second place in the team rankings and looks towards a strong Giro d’Italia just two weeks away.

Di Luca proved his form and will be a strong contender for the maglia rosa next month.

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