Will he? Won’t he? The quetion just kept popping back, and with good reason, the one bad day on the Stelvio cost Basso a potential win and he may have been bitter since. Add to that a course that is better suited to Basso’s skills than the Tour and you have a done deal. The inclusion of a Team Time Trail doesn’t hurt since CSC is loaded with TT talent to boot.
So Basso may have finally convinced Bjarne Riis to ride the Giro, much like a kid asking their parents to go to the amusement park with constant questions. Riis must have just said, OK ride the freaking thing, then be ready for the Tour too. The 2006 Giro looks like it will be loaded with talent and star power as Jan Ullrich decided to ride the Corsa Rosa , but as training. Other Italian riders that will ride both the Giro and the Tour include Gilberto Simoni (to win L’Alpe D’Huez stage), Damiano Cunego (testing the waters), and Paolo Salvodelli (in support of Popovych).
Mags
It will be an interesting season next week. I still wonder if Pantani will be the last rider to take the double. The trend has become to only focus on one of the big races, which is understandable. I think he will only ride the Giro as training, although it is much more suited for Basso then the Tour.
Mags
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