Danilo Di Luca wins the Giro's 'Queen Stage' with a solo attack.

Race leader Danilo Di Luca put a rose-colored stamp of authority on the 2009 Giro d’Italia on Tuesday, winning the race’s longest stage in a late solo attack that left the other GC favorites choking on his fumes as they ceded critical seconds on the general classification.

Di Luca tightened his grip on the maglia rosa heading into Thursday's critical long individual time trial, expanding his lead to 1:20 to second-place Denis Menchov (Rabobank) on a day that saw quite a bit of reshuffling in the overall standings.

“Today was like Liège-Bastogne-Liège,” said Di Luca, a winner for the second time in 10 stages (and a L-B-L winner in 2007). “It was perfect for my characteristics. I attacked on the downhill. Winning alone is the best possible way to win a stage.”
______________________