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Reuters 18y

Cycling-Little Prince Cunego fulfils his promise on Tour

By Julien Pretot

PARIS, July 23 - Damiano Cunego finally lived up
to expectations again when he won the white jersey for the best
young rider of the Tour de France on Sunday.

Cunego, who finished 12th overall behind winner Floyd Landis
of the U.S., had failed to impress since his sensational win in
the Giro d'Italia two years ago.

The 25-year-old finished the Tour as the best Italian,
having tiptoed into the race saying he had a lot to learn.

"Nothing can be compared with the Tour de France. Here
everything is bigger, every stage is like a classic race," he
said once the race had started.

"Here, I am going to school. Let's say I am taking my
diploma."

However, Cunego, who has been tipped by French great Bernard
Hinault as a future Tour winner, had a leading role in the first
Alpine stage from Gap to l'Alpe d'Huez.

He was part of a long-range breakaway and lost to
Luxembourg's Frank Schleck only on the final part of the ascent
to l'Alpe d'Huez.

STRAINED RELATIONS

Cunego's stunning success in the 2004 Giro was a surprise to
fans and pundits alike and was a blow to the prestige of his
then team leader Gilberto Simoni.

Relations between the two riders during the race were
strained and when Cunego stole Simoni's breakaway to win the
18th stage, Simoni did not hide his feelings.

Cunego was dubbed "the Little Prince" by Italian fans and
finished the season ranked number one in the world rankings --
at 23 the youngest rider to achieve the honour.

In the 2005 Giro, Cunego was no threat to Simoni. He
collapsed during the first serious climb in the Dolomites,
losing six minutes in the day and any prospect of defending his
crown.

At the time his team attributed his loss to a "psychological
crisis" and Cunego himself said that "a great weight has been
lifted from me by this defeat".

After the race he was found to have a virus and did not
enter the 2005 Tour de France as he had planned.

This year, after an uneventful start to the season, Cunego
finished third in the Liege-Bastogne-Liege cycling classic,
losing out to Alejandro Valverde and Paolo Bettini in a sprint
finish.

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