Di Luca takes the win |
Bettini was one of the riders to come down in the huge pile-up |
Di Luca proves white bikes are fast |
Fresh from the rest day Danilo Di Luca slipped back into the maglia rosa after winning the 158km stage from Salerno to Montevergino di Mercogliano.
Commenting on his won, Di Luca said: “For sure it’s a great result but we’re still a long way from Milan. The team worked so hard today as always which allowed me to reach this goal. Now we will manage the race wisely, assuming our responsibility without spending everything to hold onto the jersey.”
The stage got off to a shaky start however, as the rain dampened the course considerably. After 80km, with the riders just cruising along, we witnessed perhaps one of the biggest single crashes in a very long time. This happened on a pretty straight section of road too, and when one rider lost control this triggered nearly everybody behind to hit the deck. It was like they were riding on ice.
Finishing third, 2004 Giro winner Damiano Cunego wasn’t quite on the pace: “I was feeling good and so we try to work in order to obtain a good result: we almost reached it, but Di Luca and Riccò were strongest”.
