Ivan Basso (born 26 November 1977) is an Italian professional road bicycle racer who is currently racing with Italian UCI pro tour team Liquigas. Basso, nicknamed Ivan the Terrible, is among the best mountain riders in the professional field of the 2000s, and is considered one of the strongest stage race riders. He is a winner of the Giro d'Italia, having won the 2006 edition of the Italian Grand Tour whilst riding for Team CSC. However, in 2007 ...
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Ivan Basso (born 26 November 1977) is an Italian professional road bicycle racer who is currently racing with Italian UCI pro tour team Liquigas. Basso, nicknamed Ivan the Terrible, is among the best mountain riders in the professional field of the 2000s, and is considered one of the strongest stage race riders. He is a winner of the Giro d'Italia, having won the 2006 edition of the Italian Grand Tour whilst riding for Team CSC. However, in 2007 Basso admitted he was planning to use doping and was suspended for two years. His suspension ended on October 24, 2008, and he returned to racing two days later in the Japan Cup, where he placed a close third behind Damiano Cunego and Giovanni Visconti.
He was born in Gallarate, in the province of Varese in Lombardy. There he grew up next door to Claudio Chiappucci, a former three-time stage winner in the Tour de France who later retired after being proven guilty of doping several times.
As an amateur, he finished second in the 1995 junior...
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