Four in the lead
Like a few days ago but further west for the Fleche Wallonne, the 191 Liège-Bastogne-Liège riders
took off under a bright sunshine and rather warm weather conditions for a demanding 262km ride. The first riders to break
away were Christophe Moreau (A2R) and Niki Terpstra (MRM) at kilometre 3 but their efforts proved to be vain a few kilometres
later. At kilometre 7 Vasil Kiriyenka (TIN) tried his luck and was soon caught by Jan Kuyckx (LAN) and then Remy Di Gregorio
(FDJ) and Unai Etxebarria (EUS) at km 11. Well aware that the race would be long and extremely tough due to the hot conditions,
the pack wasn’t too concerned by the early breakaway group. Indeed the gap grew from 45” at km 17 to 4’20
at km 25 and then a huge 15’50, at kilometre 44. Heading closer to Bastogne, the front men’s advantage reached
a maximum 18’30 at kilometre 77 before dropping.
Pack eventually reacts
As the leading riders covered one
of the toughest parts of the race with the three climbs up the Côte de Wanne, Stockeu and Haute-Levée, Jan Kuyckx was the
first to struggle and failed to follow his companions. At the top of the Côte de la Haute-Levée (km 185), the pack had seriously
moved closer led by the Quick Step and Gerolsteiner riders, and remained 11’ adrift. In the climb up the Côte de la
Redoute, Kiriyenka was dropped behind leaving two men in the lead. Meanwhile behind, Carlos Barredo (QST) was the first to
attack, rapidly followed and caught by Nibali (LIQ), Schumacher (GST), Vasseur (QST) and Kroon in the climb up the Côte de
Sprimont.
Schumacher gives it a go
At kilometre 237 and after having enjoyed a breakaway of close to 230km, the
leading two riders were caught by their five followers. In the penultimate climb of the day, the Côte de Sart-Tilman, Schumacher
and Vasseur managed to take off. A few kilometres later, the Gerolsteiner rider and winner of the Amstel Gold Race a week
ago continued on his own while all the other riders were eventually caught by the pack. The German carried on his effort and
enjoyed a 20” lead with 8km to go and one final hill to climb, the Côte de Saint Nicolas.
Di Luca the smartest
The hunting pack of favourites eventually caught Schumacher and the battle really started between the top riders. Bettini
(QST) was the first to give it a go in the Saint Nicolas climb, in vain! It was finally Frank Schleck (CSC), despite a broken
rib after a fall during the Amstel Gold Race who managed to break away. The CSC rider was rapidly caught by Danilo Di Luca
and both men enjoyed a 10” lead with under 3km to go. In the final kilometre Di Luca’s last attack was decisive.
The Italian eventually crossed the finish line with a 30 metre lead over Alejandro Valverde who had caught up and overtaken
Schleck, third.
Frank Schleck was happy with his third spot: "I'm very pleased with not only my own effort out there, but also the team's
effort. For me a third place in Liège-Bastogne-Liège is a big deal, and I think we did great today. The team did a perfect
job for me and I really wanted to return the favor with a good result. I think I chose the exact right moment to make my move,
because none of the favorites wanted to risk making the first move, and I didn't want to end up in a large group at the end.
Di Luca was smart and deserved to win for sure. I took my chances and after the week I've had with my crash and my injury,
I can't be anything else but satisfied," said Fränk Schleck, who only found out on Saturday that he has a fracture on his
spine.
Danilo Di Luca waited a long time for a dream to become true: "I’ve been a professional rider for nine years and
the first time I took part in this race, I understood that it was the toughest and most beautiful race in the World. It’s
the race that I’ve always wanted to win and I do it today and that really satisfies me. It’s the biggest joy of
my career because this race is so fascinating. I’ve actually won several races but it’s the first time that I
am that moved."
Di Luca about the race: "The key was to find the good moment to attack. I had to wait before taking the good decision.
I basically had the same strategy than on the Fleche Wallonne but it hadn’t worked out as well. Here, when I found myself
with Franck Schleck and we started feeling that Valverde could come back, we immediately decided to insist. There was no hesitation
possible. Thankfully my legs were still there in the final part because Schleck really looked strong. I still managed to be
faster."
Di Luca about winning Liège-Bastogne-Liège: "It’s a beautiful victory. Exactly twenty-three years ago, I competed
in my very first race and won it. It was in Italy in Picano. Today I win what I consider being the most beautiful race in
the world. It’s a fantastic day for me."
Results Liège-Basogne-Liège 2007
1 Danilo Di Luca (Ita) Liquigas
6.37.24 (39.56 km/h)
2 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne
0.03
3 Fränk Schleck (Lux) Team CSC
4 Paolo Bettini (Ita) Quickstep - Innergetic
0.06
5 Davide Rebellin (Ita) Gerolsteiner
6 Michael Boogerd (Ned) Rabobank
0.07
7 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre - Fondital
0.09
8 Matthias Kessler (Ger) Astana
9 Juan Jose Cobo (Spa) Saunier Duval - Prodir
10 Kim Kirchen (Lux) T-Mobile Team
11 Jérôme Pineau (Fra) Bouygues Telecom
12 Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Liquigas
13 Samuel Sanchez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi
14 Benoît Salmon (Fra) Agritubel
0.15
15 John Gadret (Fra) AG2r Prévoyance
16 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Française des Jeux
17 Riccardo Ricco (Ita) Saunier Duval - Prodir
0.20
18 Alexandre Botcharov (Rus) Crédit Agricole
19 Pierrick Fedrigo (Fra) Bouygues Telecom
20 Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita) AG2r Prévoyance
21 Nicki Sørensen (Den) Team CSC
22 Manuele Mori (Ita) Saunier Duval - Prodir
0.25
23 Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr) Discovery Channel 0.28
24 Gilberto Simoni (Ita) Saunier Duval
- Prodir
0.31
25 Sergiy Gonchar (Ukr) T-Mobile Team
0.35
