THIS WEEK IN PRO CYCLING
The Basso era begins
Sunday marked the official opening of the Basso Era as Ivan Basso (CSC) won the 2006 Giro d'Italia in a dominant fashion that many expect to continue into July’s Tour de France.
Basso, 28, insists he’s not out to ascend to Lance Armstrong’s vacant throne and that his overpowering victory in the 89th Giro d’Italia came in a style all his own.
"I’m not looking to replace anyone and I have the utmost respect for Lance, but I have my results and I have earned my place in the group," Basso said Sunday morning ahead of the final stage. "I have my name and I only have to show that I am Ivan Basso."
Questions remain regarding how long Basso’s reign may last and whether he will rule in the ruthless fashion of Armstrong or in the benign manner of his childhood hero Miguel Indurain. But what’s sure is that Basso’s Giro victory is the most dominant in a generation. His winning margin of 9:18 to runner-up José Enrique Gutiérrez (Phonak) is the largest in 41 years, and his Team CSC squad simply obliterated the competition.
"The key to a stage-race rider is to be steady and take time when it counts," Basso said. "I was consistent in this race and didn’t have a bad day. I expected more troubles from my rivals, but my team proved the strongest in the race."
Basso’s good-guy demeanor is in sharp contrast with his racing guile. He won three stages and took time on his rivals in every decisive climbing stage. In the important 50km time trial he finished second to Jan Ullrich (T-Mobile), demonstrating his improved skills against the clock, and even entered into a good, old-fashioned polemica after Saturday’s duel with Gilberto Simoni (Saunier Duval).
Basso also showed mental strength while riding to the first grand-tour victory of his career. After folding in last year’s Giro and finding himself unable to seize Armstrong’s crown in the Tour, Basso held steady under the weight of the maglia rosa.
"I had nearly two weeks in the race leader’s jersey and this will help me tremendously in the Tour," Basso said. "I have a head as hard as concrete and that got me through this race."
Basso’s superiority stood in sharp contrast to disappointments from the other overall rivals.
Defending champion Paolo Savoldelli (Discovery Channel) looked to have winning legs when he roared to victory in the opening time trial, but faded out of contention to finish fifth when problems with allergies sapped his strength in the decisive mountains.
"It’s been three frustrating weeks for Paolo. He hasn’t been able to breathe. If you can’t breathe properly, you cannot pedal. It really hit him in the first mountaintop finish. It’s a mental thing, when you suffer from that, it makes life hard," Discovery sport director Sean Yates told VeloNews.
"He said he never arrived at the Giro in such shape, but Basso just put down the law. Even if he wasn’t suffering from allergies and he was 100 percent, he still wouldn’t have been able to beat Basso."
Danilo Di Luca (Liquigas) saw his hopes of improving on fourth place last year dwindle in each mountain stage while 2004 champ Damiano Cunego (Lampre) rebounded from a bad start and an horrendous time trial to take fourth overall.
Last year’s phenomenon, José Rujano (Selle Italia), disappeared without a trace after failing to finish the climbing stage at La Thuile. He’s expected to reappear at the Tour de France in Quick Step colors.
Jan Ullrich (T-Mobile) won a stage, trained in the mountains and took an early exit after declaring he’s ready for the Tour. The doping scandal in Spain took the wind out of Liberty Seguros’ sails. And Gutiérrez's second-place finish surprised everyone – including himself.
But these were all secondary characters. This Giro was all about Basso, and he stamped his authority on it wherever and whenever he could.
Förster wins finale
Though the overall was a certainty, there was still a stage to write into the history books, and Sunday’s finale unfolded in a classy Italian style. Starting at cycling’s history museum at the Ghisallo chapel above glittering Lake Como, 151 starters (Milram’s Mirko Lorenzetto wouldn’t finish) rolled past pink banners and cheering fans for the 140km stroll from Ghisallo to downtown Milan, where Sunday shoppers waited for the peloton.
It wasn't all smiles and champagne, though. The Basso-Simoni feud from Saturday’s finish in Aprica was still churning. An angry Simoni told Italian television Basso wanted money to give up the victory in Saturday’s stage, but Basso refused to take the bait.
"This is the happiest day of my sporting career. I will stop talking about this," Basso said. "This isn’t the first time ‘Gibo’ has reacted with rancor and emotion."
Everyone seemed ready for the party in Milan and some 4.4 million television viewers tuned in to watch the final 11 laps on the finishing circuit. Just as they have the entire Giro, Team CSC rode pace at the front, with the riders sporting special pink handlebar tape to mark the occasion.
Henk Vogels (Davitamon-Lotto) crashed in a first-lap pileup, but got back on, and the speed ramped up with each closing lap. Without sprinter heavyweights Robbie McEwen and Alessandro Petacchi in the mix, everyone was looking to Paolo Bettini (Quick Step-Innergetic) to take the flowers. But plucky Gerolsteiner had something up its sleeve and sent two-stage winner Stefan Schumacher at the lead to spring Robert Förster to victory.
Förster shot hard up the left side to block out Bettini as Italian Maximiliano Richeze (Panaria) slipped through for second with Olaf Pollack (T-Mobile) third.
"We did all we could to get Förster over the mountains to fight here in Milan," said Gerolsteiner sport director Christian Henn. "He’s had so many seconds and thirds, he really deserves this."
Basso coasted through 48th safely in the main bunch to bring it all to an end.
The podium
The winner’s podium included Basso, Gutiérrez second at 9:18 and two-time Giro champion Simoni third at 11:59.
Basso’s winning margin is the widest since Vitorrio Adorni won in 1965 in 11:26. In addition to his three stage wins and CSC’s team-time-trial victory, he took time on his rivals in every important stage except the opening time trial. He won or finished second in every decisive stage after that, barring Stage 19, when a breakaway held to the finish.
"I don’t feel like I did anything spectacular or extraordinary in this Giro," a nonchalant Basso said. "I was just steady in every stage that counted. I never had a bad day and never gave up any time." Now he will make a short break to get acquainted with his newborn baby boy and then prepare for the Tour de France, where he’ll try to become the first man since Marco Pantani to pull off the Giro-Tour double.
Gutiérrez, 31, was the biggest revelation in the fight for the GC, riding with determination and strength that surprised everyone, including himself. His best season came in 2004, when he won a stage in the Dauphiné Libéré and the Vuelta a España.
A big rider nicknamed "Buffalo" because of his hulking breathing style in the peloton, Gutiérrez’s previous best finish in a grand tour was 25th in the 2001 Tour. In the 2000 Giro, he had a brief run in the maglia rosa.
"I knew I felt strong after the first climbing stage and put everything into defending my position in the GC. All the Italians were waiting for me to blow up, but it never happened," Gutiérrez told VeloNews. "This is the first time I’ve had the chance to ride for myself. I was always working for a team captain, so I wanted to take advantage of this opportunity for all I could."
As for Simoni, despite being disappointed with third place overall and no stage victories, it was his seventh Giro podium in eight years, a remarkable run in any era. Simoni won two Giros (2001 and 2003) and finished third four times and second once. His team won two stages with Italian veteran Leonardo Piepoli, but couldn’t shake Gutiérrez in the final weekend to move Simoni to second overall.
"It’s a Giro I would rather forget," Simoni told Italian TV. "I don’t want to make up with Basso, whom I no longer consider a friend. All I want to do now is look to the future. I’m hoping to compete in the Tour de France with David (Millar). After that I will ride for another year if (team manager) Mauro Gianetti agrees."
The Americans
Five Americans started the 89th Giro and four finished. The lone exception was Tom Danielson (Discovery Channel), who was forced to not start Saturday’s mountain stage after falling victim to a fever. Danielson was sitting 16th (at 23:24)overall despite taking some tough pulls to help Savoldelli get up the hardest climbs.
Team CSC’s Bobby Julich (92nd at 2:50:32) provided strong support en route to CSC’s first grand-tour victory. He, too, is expected to reload for the Tour de France in July.
Phonak’s Pat McCarty (113th at 3:26:05) made it through his grand-tour debut, saying that he was tired but motivated after having arrived in Milan. McCarty helped tow Gutiérrez to the base of the big climbs.
Discovery Channel’s Jason McCartney (135th at 3:54:02), who was a member of the team that helped Savoldelli win last year, finished his second Giro.
And Saunier Duval’s Aaron Olson (148th at 4:16:23) was glad to arrive in Milan in his grand-tour debut.
The jerseys
The Giro d’Italia has so many special classifications, prizes and standings it takes a spreadsheet to keep track of them all.
Looking pretty in pink, of course, was Basso. He first donned the maglia rosa after stage eight, giving him 17 days in the pink jersey, with 14 this year and three in 2005.
Bettini won the ciclamino points jersey in a seesaw battle with Basso, who was racking up points in the mountains. Savoldelli, Schumacher, McEwen and Basso all held the points lead until Bettini grabbed it back in Sunday’s finale with 169 points to Basso’s 158.
Juan Manuel Garate (Quick Step-Innergetic) took the best climber’s jersey after coming on strong in the final weekend. Garate won at San Pellegrino, thanks to Jens Voigt’s generosity, but he took the points over the Cima Coppi up the Gavia to seal the deal on the green jersey with 64 points. Basso was second at 56 points and Baliani was third at 52.
Paolo Savoldelli (Discovery Channel) won the blu jersey with 775 points to Gutiérrez’s 651. And Phonak won the team classification.
To see how the finale unfolded, simply click here to bring up our live update window.
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