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http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/printpage/0,5942,20312821,00.html
From correspondents in La Covatilla, Spain
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[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Sans-Serif]ITALY'S Danilo Di Luca won the 178km fifth stage of the Tour of Spain from Placencia to here overnight, the race's first mountain stage and summit finish.
The 30-year-old Liquigas rider also took the overall leader's jersey from previous incumbent, sprint specialist Thor Hushovd, but admitted he has no hope of winning the race.
"I have no ambition whatsoever in terms of the overall standings," he said.
"My target was to win a stage, and I am happy to have done so so quickly, and to be in such good condition for the world championships."
Di Luca, who won two stages on last year's Tour of Italy and is also at home on the one-day classics, finished in 5hr 2min 25sec, ahead of Slovenia's Janek Brajkovic (Discovery Channel).
Kazakh champion Andrey Kashechkin (Astana) was third, 7sec adrift.
But while Di Luca holds the overall lead, two of the principal home hopes, Carlos Sastre and Alejandro Valverde, the latter having suffered bitter disappointment in the Tour de France crashing out for the second successive year, are breathing down his neck.
Sastre and Valverde eased home in fifth and sixth place respectively, some 22sec off the Italian, but moved into fourth and sixth overall respectively.
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From correspondents in La Covatilla, Spain
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Sans-Serif]31aug06[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Sans-Serif]ITALY'S Danilo Di Luca won the 178km fifth stage of the Tour of Spain from Placencia to here overnight, the race's first mountain stage and summit finish.
The 30-year-old Liquigas rider also took the overall leader's jersey from previous incumbent, sprint specialist Thor Hushovd, but admitted he has no hope of winning the race.
"I have no ambition whatsoever in terms of the overall standings," he said.
"My target was to win a stage, and I am happy to have done so so quickly, and to be in such good condition for the world championships."
Di Luca, who won two stages on last year's Tour of Italy and is also at home on the one-day classics, finished in 5hr 2min 25sec, ahead of Slovenia's Janek Brajkovic (Discovery Channel).
Kazakh champion Andrey Kashechkin (Astana) was third, 7sec adrift.
But while Di Luca holds the overall lead, two of the principal home hopes, Carlos Sastre and Alejandro Valverde, the latter having suffered bitter disappointment in the Tour de France crashing out for the second successive year, are breathing down his neck.
Sastre and Valverde eased home in fifth and sixth place respectively, some 22sec off the Italian, but moved into fourth and sixth overall respectively.
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