Ivan Basso's Thoughts Ahead of Giro

Why did you decide to wait for the last moment to enter the Giro?
"I had crashed twice earlier in the season and I didn't know my condition. The Tour of Romandie gave me good feedback, I've always ridden at the front at the same pace of the best riders. Now I can go to the Giro with confidence."

But in the Tour of Romadie you crashed again...
"It was a random incident, a Frenchman had taken his hands off the handlebars. However, during the race I felt very good. I'm not at my top level of condition but the Giro will be won at the end so I have time to improve."

You seek your 3rd pink jersey like Brunero, Bartali, Magni, Gimondi, Hinault. Which of these do you resemble?
"I'm not obsessed with the objective of success because it will not be my last Giro, I will race at least two others. As for the greats of the past, I admire Gimondi." 


It's appropriate that the Grio will celebrate his 70th birthday.
"Felice has been very close to me during the most critical part of my career (in 2007 Basso admitted he was planning to use doping and was suspended for two year). He is special."

The critics say that this is a Giro with few stars....
"Unfortunately the placement on the calendar affects this. It is the first major stage race and those going to the Tour de France prefer to stay home. However, there will be Frank Schleck, who has finished 2nd in the Tour, Scarponi, who has already won one Giro. And, then Kreuziger, Rujano, Rodriguez, Gadret and above all Cunego who will not only be riding next to Scarponi."

You, instead, will not have Nibali like in 2010 when you won...
"I will miss him a great deal. But, Vincenzo does well to have the Tour as his goal. I'll probably be at the Tour but I'll ride in support."

Is the dream of winning the Tour gone for you?
"I am realistic, it's almost impossible for me to win. Almost."

So, let's focus on the Giro. Do like it? And what could be the climatic stage?
"It's very beautiful but full of pitfalls, starting from the wind and weather in Denmark."

There will be many climbs such as Cervinia, Valparola, Duran, Staulanza, Giau, Manghen, Pampeago, Tonale, Mortirolo, Stelvio... Which will be decisive? 
"The Stelvio because it's legendary and comes in a stage with 6000 meters of elevation gain, and also on the penultimate day."

It was there in 2005 that you went into crisis and lost the Giro...
"I should redeem myself".

Will you miss Contador a bit? What do you think of his disqualification?  
"In cycling there are already too many people who speak without any knowledge. Of  Alberto I can only say that he is the strongest rider in the world for the grand tours.

But, he's out for doping. And, recently they caught Galimzyanov who confessed of using EPO...
"Yet cycling has changed, it is the sport that has invested the most against doping, and I feel I can say that it is finally clean."

Basso, how would you like to see yourself on May 27th at the end of the 2012 Giro?
"On the podium, in the pink jersey, celebrating with my kids, Domitilla, Santiago and Levante."

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Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, touring, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, etc. are always welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 2,300 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog. There is also a translate button at the bottom so you can translate each page . 

Ivan Basso Will Race Giro d'Italia

Ivan Basso, delaying his decision on whether or not to race the 2012 Giro d'Italia depending upon his Tour de Romandie performance this week, announced this evening that he will race the Corsa Rosa which he has previously won in 2006 and 2010. Ivan Basso is currently 33rd in the Tour of Romandie with one stage, a 16.5 km individual time trial, remaining. In the recent Giro del Trentino, April 17-20, he finished 22nd.

The announcement from Liquigas-Cannondale: 

"The first official step has been made on the road to the Giro d’Italia. This evening, after a meeting between Liquigas-Cannondale’s management and Ivan Basso, the decision about his presence was taken: the team and the captain will fight for the third pink jersey of their respective history.

Beside Basso, the experienced trio of directeurs sportifs Stefano Zanatta, Alberto Volpi and Mario Scirea will lead the team of five climbers and three rouleurs through the twenty-one stages: Valerio Agnoli, Eros Capecchi, Damiano Caruso, Cristiano Salerno and Sylwester Szmyd, plus Maciej Bodnar, Paolo Longo Borghini and Fabio Sabatini.

"I decided to dispel all the doubts one day early," affirms Basso. "Because the feelings during the Tour de Romandie were what I expected and. I made many efforts to prepare this event, working a supplementary work that only now gave me the confidence to fight for the pink jersey: I’m really happy to announce my presence".

"In terms of athleticism and character we’ve got the best possible line-up to manage a difficult race like the Giro." Zanatta explained. "All the guys are in terrific condition but above all they’re highly motivated to race as main contenders. Over the past few weeks I’ve noticed how they have a massive desire and are very proud to be part of this team. Today we understand that Ivan is in form: we will support him in the best way. The Giro has always been the main race in our season, and we’re aware of the pressures and expectations. We know they’ll leave the task of managing the race to us in many cases so the group’s unity, cohesion and camaraderie will be crucial factors. Riders like Szmyd, Capecchi, Agnoli, Bodnar, Longo Borghini and Sabatini guarantee us experience on the climbs as well as the flat; Salerno has proved he is reliable on the mountain stages, as has Caruso: he’ll be invaluable support for the captain and have the chance to grow and improve the quality of his riding. We’re backing Sabatini for the sprints: unfortunately Viviani won’t be racing and this is a great loss."

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Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, touring, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, etc. are always welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 2,400 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog. There is also a translate button at the bottom so you can translate each page . 
 

Auotgraphed Pink Jerseys on Italian Ebay

Four D&G pink jerseys will be auctioned on Italian ebay with proceeds going to the families of the earthquake in Abruzzo. The first pink jersey being auctioned is signed by one of the top favorites, Ivan Basso. The three other jerseys to be auctioned will be those signed by Simoni, Di Luca, and Domenico Dolce & Stefano Gabbana. The current auctions ends Wednesday of next week.

The auction link:

http://www.gazzetta.it/openxlink.shtml?http://members.ebay.it/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewUserPage&userid=lorgior1970

Photo: Basso signed pink jersey

Stories, including cycling trip stories, for the Italian Cycling Journal welcome; contact veronaman@gmail.com

Ivan Basso: "Maniacal" Preparations for the Giro

The Gazzetta dello Sport has described Ivan Basso's preparations for the Giro d'Italia as "maniacal". He has explored virtually every stage, most recently riding the time trial course with Liquigas teammates on the Lido in Venice. They rode the course three times of which Basso said, "My impression is a very positive one. The circuit appeals a lot to me, and in this setting it will be uniquely spectacular. It will be a very high velocity test."

For for details, and aerial photos, of the opening time trial stage in Venice on May 9th see: http://italiancyclingjournal.blogspot.com/2009/01/100-days-to-start-of-giro-ditalia-in.html. By the way, the time trial will begin at approximately 3:00pm local, and the last squad is expected to finish at approximately 5:10pm local.

Photo: Ivan Basso and Liquigas teammates on the Lido, Venice

Stories, including cycling trip stories, for the Italian Cycling Journal welcome; contact veronaman@gmail.com

Is There A Cyclist at the U.S. State Department?

The U.S. State Department website has chosen a cycling photograph for its ITALY section. Ivan Basso is seen in the pink jersey during the 2006 Giro d'Italia passing under the leaning Tower of Pisa. It's a fitting photo in light of the 100th anniversary of the Giro this year.

The Italy section, http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/4033.htm, is divided into informative sub-sections covering People, History, Government, Political Conditions, Economy, Foreign relations, U.S. Relations, Travel/Business and Background Notes

Photos: partial U.S. State Department web page image, Ivan Basso photo

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