Di Luca takes Flèche Wallonne

VeloNews.com | Flèche Wallonne win gives Di Luca ProTour lead

Danilo Di Luca rode smart and strong to win Flèche Wallonne today.

With CSC strongman Jens Voigt (2nd at last year's Tour de Georgia) whittling down a seven-man break, Di Luca's Liquigas squad, led the peloton in chasing Voigt, who had been with the leaders for 150 km, and spent 40 kms on his own. Voigt was reeled in with 4 kms to ride.

"It was only when we reached the foot of the last climb that I thought of winning," Di Luca finally said. "The strongest riders were all at the front and I knew what I had to do. I made a mistake last year on the steep [19 -percent] turns and I finished second to Rebellin."

Top 5:
1) Danilo Di Luca (Liquigas-Bianchi)
2) Kim Kirchen (Fassa Bortolo)
3) Davide Rebellin (Gerolsteiner)
4) David Etxebarria (Alkorta), at :04
5) Oscar Freire (Rabobank), at :04

Di Luca takes the ProTour lead away from Tom Boonen, who he now leads by 19 points.

Also:

Eurosport | Di Luca hits the Wallonne target