Ivan Basso, who was last month given the all-clear by doctors following the diagnosis of testicular cancer that forced him to abandon the Tour de France in July, has announced his retirement.
The two-time Giro d’Italia winner chose yesterday’s launch in Milan of the 2016 edition of the race to announce that he is moving into a managerial and technical role – quite what remains to be seen – with his Tinkoff-Saxo team.
The 37-year-old, who was presented with a special award by race organisers RCS Sport in recognition of his career, said: “"It is a very strange day for me. It is difficult to know how best to express my gratitude for a thirty year career in cycling, but I hope that, in time, I will find a way.
“I am retiring from racing, but it is not a sad day because my relationship with cycling goes on, and I am delighted that I will continue to work in the world that I love.
“The Giro d'Italia was always the high point of my career, and to be able to greet you all from the stage of the Giro d'Italia presentation is a special honour."
Next year’s race begins in the Netherlands and will feature three individual time trial stages, including one in Tuscany’s Chianti Classico wine-growing area, first revealed in London last month.
Here’s the promotional video for next year’s race, which finishes in Turin, followed by the official route video.
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Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
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