Danilo Di Luca

Personal information
Full name	Danilo Di Luca
Nickname	The Killer
Date of birth	January 2, 1976 (1976-01-02) (age 32)
Country	Italy
Height	1. Events 366 - The Alamanni cross the frozen Rhine River in large numbers invading the Roman Empire. Year 1976 ( MCMLXXVI) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest 74 m (5 ft 8+1⁄2 in)
Weight	61 kg (130 lb/9. The pound or pound-mass (abbreviation lb, lbm, or sometimes in the United States #) is a unit of Mass 6 st)
Team information
Current team	L. The stone is a unit of Weight. It is part of the Imperial system of weights and measures used in the British Isles, and formerly used in most P. R. Brakes
Discipline	Road
Role	Rider
Rider type	All-rounder
Professional team(s)
1998 1999 2000–2001 2002–2004 2005–2007 2008–	Riso Scotti Cantina Tollo-Alexia Acqua & Sapone Saeco-Longoni Sport Liquigas L. P. R. Brakes
Major wins
UCI ProTour Champion (2005) Giro d'Italia (2007), 6 stages Vuelta a España, 2 stages Amstel Gold Race (2005) Giro di Lombardia (2001) La Flèche Wallonne (2005) Liège-Bastogne-Liège (2007) Vuelta al País Vasco (2005)
Infobox last updated on:
January 2, 2008

Danilo Di Luca (born January 2, 1976) is an Italian professional road racing cyclist for UCI Professional Continental team L.P.R. Brakes. Events 366 - The Alamanni cross the frozen Rhine River in large numbers invading the Roman Empire. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 366 - The Alamanni cross the frozen Rhine River in large numbers invading the Roman Empire. Year 1976 ( MCMLXXVI) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest Road bicycle racing is a popular Bicycle racing Sport held on roads (following the Geography of the area using Racing bicycles The Listed below are the UCI Professional Continental and Continental Teams that compete in Road bicycle racing events of the UCI Continental Circuits organised by the LPR Brakes-Ballan ( is a professional cycling team based in Ireland that participates in UCI Continental Circuits races and when selected as a wildcard Di Luca has won the 2005 UCI ProTour, the 2007 Giro d'Italia and two "Monument" races, the Giro di Lombardia in 2001 and Liège-Bastogne-Liège in 2007. The 2005 ProTour was the first year of the newly-introduced UCI ProTour system in which the ProTour teams are guaranteed and obliged to participate in the series The 2007 Giro d'Italia Cycle race took place from May 12 until June 3 2007 The classic cycle races are the most prestigious one-day professional cycling road races in the international calendar. The Giro di Lombardia ( English: Tour of Lombardy) is an Italian cycle race based in the Lombardy region Liège-Bastogne-Liège, often called La Doyenne ("the oldest" is one of the five ' Monuments ' of the European professional road cycling calendar The latter gave him the Ardennes triple, following his wins in the Amstel Gold Race and La Flèche Wallonne in 2005. The Amstel Gold Race is a Road bicycle race held (mostly in the southern part of the province of Limburg, The Netherlands. For the women's event see La Flèche Wallonne Féminine. La Flèche Wallonne is a men's major professional cycle road race

Contents 1 Early years 2 2005 3 2006 4 2007 5 Major achievements 6 References 7 External links

Early years

Born in Spoltore, province of Pescara, Di Luca began his professional career in 1998 in the Italian Riso Scotti team. Spoltore is a Comune and Town in the Province of Pescara in the Abruzzo region of Italy, with a population of c The Province of Pescara ( Provincia di Pescara) is a province in the Abruzzo region of Italy. He showcased his talents by winning the under 23 version of the Giro D'Italia. However, his first pro win did not come until 1999, when, after moving to team Cantina Tollo-Alexia, he won the first stage of the Giro d'Abruzzo. He still remained in the team after its fusion with Acqua & Sapone, taking important wins in 2001 such as the fourth stage of the Giro d'Italia and the Autumn classic Giro di Lombardia. The Giro d'Italia ( Tour of Italy) also simply known as The Giro, is a long distance Road bicycle racing Stage race for professional The classic cycle races are the most prestigious one-day professional cycling road races in the international calendar. The Giro di Lombardia ( English: Tour of Lombardy) is an Italian cycle race based in the Lombardy region Then, he transferred to team Saeco-Longoni Sport. Saeco was the name of an Italian Road bicycle racing team sponsored by the company with the same name.

During his time at Saeco-Longoni he had a long stroke of bad luck, which began when he lost the Vuelta al País Vasco on the last stage, a mountain time trial in which Andreas Klöden took the lead and the final win. The Vuelta Ciclista al País Vasco ( Basque: Euskal Herriko txirrindulari itzulia, English: Tour of the Basque Country) is an annual Cycling Andreas Klöden (born June 22 1975 in Mittweida) is a German professional Road bicycle racer for UCI ProTour Team Astana. Combined with a succession of injuries and a lack of confidence of the team directors, his performance suffered. In 2004 Italian officials investigated Di Luca for doping. Says cyclingnews. com "Di Luca was recorded in several phone conversations with Eddy Mazzoleni in which he allegedly talked about doping products, the investigation led to Di Luca's non-participation in the 2004 Tour de France. Eddy Mazzoleni (born July 29, 1973 in Bergamo) is an Italian professional Road bicycle racer who most recently rode for "^[1][2]

2005

In 2005, Di Luca switched to the newly formed Liquigas-Bianchi team, with teammates such as Mario Cipollini, Dario Cioni, Stefano Garzelli, and Magnus Bäckstedt. Team Liquigas ( UCI Team Code LIQ) is an Italian professional Road bicycle racing team in the UCI ProTour. Mario Cipollini (born 22 March 1967 in Lucca, Tuscany often abbreviated to "Cipo" is an Italian professional road cyclist Dario David Cioni (born December 2, 1974 in Reading, Berkshire, England) is an English-born Italian professional Stefano Garzelli (born July 16, 1973, in Varese) is an Italian professional Road racing cyclist. Magnus Bäckstedt (born January 30, 1975 in Linköping, Östergötland) is a Swedish professional Road bicycle racer He was the leader of the team for the spring classics campaign. His first victory in this season came in the first stage of the UCI ProTour race Vuelta al País Vasco, where he also took the overall win after defeating Aitor Osa in the final time trial. The UCI ProTour is a competition under the International Cycling Union ( UCI) The Vuelta Ciclista al País Vasco ( Basque: Euskal Herriko txirrindulari itzulia, English: Tour of the Basque Country) is an annual Cycling Aitor Osa Eizaguirre (born September 9, 1973 in Zestoa) is a Spanish former Road bicycle racer. He truly excelled in the spring classics, where he won the Amstel Gold Race and La Flèche Wallonne, taking the ProTour Leader's White Jersey. These are the results for the 40th edition of the annual Amstel Gold Race Cycling classic, which was held on Sunday April 17, 2005 and gave These are the results for the 2005 edition of La Flèche Wallonne Cycling classic, won by Danilo Di Luca from Italy.

Although Di Luca had won the under 23 version of the Giro d'Italia in 1998, he was seen as a rider best suited to single day races or races lasting only a few days. Thus, his success in the 2005 Giro d'Italia came as a surprise to many. The 88th Giro d'Italia was held in 2005 from May 7 to May 29 running for about 3500 kilometers Here he notched two stage wins, stayed close to the end, and finished fourth. He finished in a solid fifth place in the Tour de Pologne. The Tour de Pologne ( English: Tour of Poland) is a Road bicycle racing Stage race. With a fourth place in the 2005 Züri-Metzgete, he secured first place in the season-long ProTour individual rankings to become the 2005 UCI ProTour Champion. These are the results for the 2005 edition of the Züri-Metzgete race, won by Paolo Bettini after a long breakaway under the rain The 2005 ProTour was the first year of the newly-introduced UCI ProTour system in which the ProTour teams are guaranteed and obliged to participate in the series

2006

Di Luca was the first athlete to retire from the 2006 Tour de France when he pulled out due to a urinary infection. The 2006 Tour de France was the 93rd Tour de France, taking place from July 1 to July 23 2006 Nevertheless, he recovered in time to compete in the 2006 Vuelta a España, winning the fifth stage and holding the leader's jersey (ceding it later in the race to Janez Brajkovič). The 61st Vuelta a España (Tour of Spain) a long-distance bicycle stage race and one of the 3 grand tours, was held from August Janez Brajkovič (born December 18 1983, Metlika) is a Racing cyclist from Slovenia. Although not without success, Di Luca's performances in the classics, the Giro, and other races, were a letdown from the triumphs of 2005.

2007

Di Luca roared back by winning the Milano-Torino in March and Liège-Bastogne-Liège in April. Milano-Torino is a semi classic European single day cycling race between the northern Italian cities of Milan and Turin over a distance of 199 kilometres The 2007 Liège-Bastogne-Liège Road bicycle race monument was held on April 29 Again, many pundits discounted Di Luca's chances to win a Grand Tour. But Di Luca proved them wrong, taking stages 4 and 12 en route to the overall victory in the 2007 Giro d'Italia. The 2007 Giro d'Italia Cycle race took place from May 12 until June 3 2007 After the Giro was finished, it was revealed that Di Luca had unspecified low hormone levels in urine tests. Italian authorities are trying to determine whether the abnormal results are a natural consequence of racing at a high level for three weeks, or some kind of masking agent. ^[3] On September 28, Di Luca withdrew from the UCI Road World Championships calling his treatment "a scandal" after he had been accused of doping allegations. Events 48 BC - Pompey the Great is assassinated on orders of King Ptolemy of Egypt after landing in Egypt. The 2007 UCI Road World Championships - Men's Road Race took place on September 30 2007. ^[4]

Di Luca was leading the 2007 UCI ProTour when he was suspended from the competition before the final race, the Giro di Lombardia, due to alleged involvement in the Oil for Drugs doping case, for which he received a three month suspension through the close season. The 2007 UCI ProTour is the third year of the UCI ProTour system The 2007 Giro di Lombardia is the 101th edition of this single day Road bicycle racing monument race. The Oil for Drugs case is an Italian doping case against doctor Carlos Santuccione and a number of accomplices started in 2003 ^[5]

Major achievements

Sporting positions
Preceded by Paolo Bettini UCI Road World Cup	UCI ProTour Champion 2005	Succeeded by Alejandro Valverde
Preceded by Ivan Basso	Winner of the Giro d'Italia 2007	Succeeded by Alberto Contador

References

External links

Official Website: http://www.danilodiluca.com (English)

• Danilo Di Luca profile
• Palmarès at Trap-Friis.dk

Persondata
NAME	Di Luca, Danilo
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION	Road racing cyclist
DATE OF BIRTH	1976-01-02
PLACE OF BIRTH	Spoltore, Italy
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH

Road bicycle racing is a popular Bicycle racing Sport held on roads (following the Geography of the area using Racing bicycles The Year 1976 ( MCMLXXVI) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 366 - The Alamanni cross the frozen Rhine River in large numbers invading the Roman Empire. Spoltore is a Comune and Town in the Province of Pescara in the Abruzzo region of Italy, with a population of c Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest

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