Italian cyclist Danilo Di Luca has been a major force during the first half of the Giro d'Italia, and with a win in Stage 12, he shows that he plans to have a major impact on the second half of the race as well.
Di Luca won his second stage of the Giro on Thursday, and regained the pink leader's jersey, which he will wear for the fourth time during Friday's time trial.
American cyclist George Hincapie (Discovery Channel) and Aussie Robbie McEwen (Davitamon Lotto) did not start Stage 12, presumably to rest up for the Tour de France. American David Zabriskie (Team CSC) is still in the race, making a play for the lead group on one of the climbs.
With former Giro d'Italia winners Paolo Salvodelli, Damiano Cunego and Gilberto Simoni among the starters this year, Di Luca might have been easy to overlook as a possible favorite for the three-week stage race.
The cyclist for Liquigas finished 23rd overall in last year's Giro, but 4th in 2005 with two stage wins. This year he has wins at the Liege-Bastogne-Liege, Milano-Torino, and Serttimana Internazionale.
Di Luca had a lucky break early on when the Liquigas team finished first in the team time trial on Stage 1, which propelled Di Luca or one of his teammates into the pink jersey on all but four days so far.
Stage 12 on Thursday featured two Alpine climbs over the 101-mile course before finishing in the French town of Briancon.
Di Luca attacked a group of five climbers twice as the route veered upward toward the finish, and in the end beat the group that included two other Giro favorites, Cunego and Simoni.
Friday's time trial is just 7.8 miles, but it's all uphill. The climb to Santuario di Oropa has an average gradient of about 6%, at times sloping at 13%.
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