Giro Stage 7 and 8: Di Luca Steals Seconds, Ricco Strikes Again

As he did in last year's Giro, di Luca has used the early stages to take small time increments from his rivals

Danilo di Luca did what many expected him to do in Friday's stage 7 of the Giro, attacking the field on the way to the finish and taking valuable time away from several GC riders. Levi Leipheimer, Dennis Menchov, Andreas Kloden, Franco Pellizotti, and Gilberto Simoni all lost 49 seconds to the 'Killer,' while Juan Antonio Soler, the climbing ace from Barloworld, lost one minute and 26 seconds on the day. Di Luca dragged hiself and two other GC threats with him, as Ricardo Ricco and Alberto Contador were both strong enough to follow last year's champion.

Bettini has spent much of 2008 on the ground, which has hurt his form, not to mention his body

Meanwhile today in stage 8, Riccardo Ricco had his turn and was able to win another stage with his explosive sprint, after the field was thinned by some tough climbs before the finish. Ricco bested Italian compatriot Davide Rebellin, who for the second day was close to victory, but was lacking just that extra little bit of power needed to come around the Saunier Duvall-Scott captain. Also present at the front of today's stage was the world champion Paolo Bettini. 'Il Grillo' hasn't had the best start to his season, as he has suffered multiple crashes that have affected his form negatively in 2008.

Next Saturday's stage is when the real battle for the overall begins

Looking ahead, tomorrow's stage is a flat one, custom-tailored for the fast finishers. Look for Daniele Bennati again at the front of the bunch, as well as Danilo Hondo, and Julian Dean of the Slipstream squad. Race overall leader Giovanni Visconti will have yet another day in the maglia rosa, before Tuesday's mountain time trial. There, Visconti will probably be able to put in a good enough ride against the clock to keep the jersey again. With some luck, the current Italian champion may be able to old the jersey all the way until next Saturday, where he will surely give it up to one of the race favorites.