Out of the Limelight, Basso Trains, Eyes 2009 Debut

Word out of the Tuscany region in Italy says that deposed Italian star Ivan Basso is putting in huge hours on the bike, six days a week. He has a familiar climb that he has used to guage his fitness throughout his career, and he has supposedly shattered his records while out training. Recently annointed "Anti-Doping Ambassador" by the UCI, Basso signed with the Italian Liquigas team a few weeks ago, effectively returning him to approximately the same point he was at before his exclusion from the Tour de France in 2006.

Basso has always been a huge talent, and has won at every level of cycling. Whether he doped or not is less of an issue than in the past, as it seems that the European peloton is making strides in the fight against doping. Basso will compete on a more level playing field against a cleaner peloton when he returns. He'll have good team support from his new Liquigas team, and he is looking as though he'll at least be a threat in the 2009 Giro. His dedication to training has never been questioned, only his judgement. Hopefully, the second time around in pro cycling will go better for Basso. Best case scenario over the final few years of his career (he'll be 31 when he returns): One Tour de France win, two more Giro titles, and one classic. Worst case scenario: Makes a bunch of money over the next few years, fades away like Iban Mayo did.