Ivan Basso interview

[Bluetree]

Found a good interview with Ivan Basso, thought others may be interested. He'll be riding the Tour of California in a few weeks. :D Looks kinda odd in the blue Discovery kit after seeing him in CSC red for so many races. (Not that Basso is hard on the eyes in ANY color)

Some comments about Lance:

"The last two Tours I was right up there with Lance [Armstrong], I was the only one who could stay with him in the mountains. He was the best rider in the world, but now he's retired and if before we were together and he's retired, I'm alone."

"Johan knew how to listen to me and that gave me lots and lots of pleasure, because I'm convinced that we can achieve great things together. I had a great impression that really gave me a lot of motivation, and didn't make me feel less of a rider than Lance, nor not even like Lance. I'm Ivan Basso and for [Johan] that is enough. We'll try to get the best from Ivan Basso without thinking of Lance. He is untouchable."


Full text:
http://www.cyclingnews.com/riders/2007/interviews/?id=ivan_basso071

[RoadRaven]

Thanks for posting this Blue, I had missed it!
Cheers
Raven

[equus123]

I think he's a great rider. I'm excited to see how he does this year with DC. Think he'll take the place of the new captain in the grand tours or do you think Georgie or someone else will be that role?

IMO, Ivan (well...as well as Tyler Hamilton) were two fantastic riders sometimes gone under the radar when Lance was in the picture. Lance is my favorite rider to watch and cycling will be very difficult for me to watch now that he's not there anymore. I think Ivan will be able to step into the spotlight in the near future. ...and he's pretty :p :p

[Eden]

This is only my opinion, but I don't think George has what it takes to be team leader. He's too nice..... Basso was definitely hired to be the man for the Grand Tours and I think he has what it takes to not only win, but be a good team leader too. The bigger thing I wonder about is what Levi thinks about all of this - as it seems that before Basso was available he was was the one tapped for the grand tour lead role.
My hope is that George has free reign to do the Spring Classics this year since it seems to be his best opportunity to really shine. I'd really love to see him finally win Paris-Roubaix this year.

[Bluetree]

This is only my opinion, but I don't think George has what it takes to be team leader. He's too nice..... Basso was definitely hired to be the man for the Grand Tours and I think he has what it takes to not only win, but be a good team leader too. The bigger thing I wonder about is what Levi thinks about all of this - as it seems that before Basso was available he was was the one tapped for the grand tour lead role.
My hope is that George has free reign to do the Spring Classics this year since it seems to be his best opportunity to really shine. I'd really love to see him finally win Paris-Roubaix this year.

+1
After that horrendous crash last year at Paris-Roubaix it would be nice to see George take it.

Basso is no doubt the number 1 guy for the Tours. He had a strong support team with CSC, but proved himself before that with Fassa Bortolo.

[equus123]

Agreed all. I don't think George is the man for the tours. One thing that's interesting to see how everything plays out - has anyone been in tune with thepaceline.com this past week? DC just finished their Solvang Camp the other day and there have been pictures from each day up there. I don't know too much about Levi but I get an odd rub from him even though it's just based on the pictures. He looks pretty cocky and somewhat isolated. I don't know, just by looking at him he doesn't seem to be part of the gang. Anybody else?? I'm big into body language, reading behaviors, and all that kinda stuff. There's just something off about Levi. Maybe Basso??

[Bluetree]

If that's the case, it's probably because Levi was "promised" the leader's role, at least that's the impression the press gave. I mean, DC made a huge deal about it, promising news of a "major blockbuster signing" before it was announced. Leipheimer... blockbuster? ho hum.

But that was before Basso was dropped by CSC and had his case shelved in OP. DC had been going after Basso for so long.. and frankly, there is no comparing Leipheimer to Basso. He had a few good showings, and won the Dauphine once, but he's no Basso.

Plus, Basso is 29 and has a 3-year deal. Levi is what... 32 or 33? This may have been his last chance as a Tour threat. If I were him, I'd be a bit disappointed too.

[VeloChick]

Plus, Basso is 29 and has a 3-year deal. Levi is what... 32 or 33? This may have been his last chance as a Tour threat. If I were him, I'd be a bit disappointed too.

Levi will most likely have his chance @ the Vuelta this year. There is no question that if Ivan races (given last year's twist, and the ongoing Operation Puerto, it certainly isn't a given) this year, he will be the team leader in both the Giro, and le Tour. In terms of George, even sans Basso and Levi, Big George showed that while he can win a stage or two, he's no GC contender in the big French race.

FYI, I've seen Levi interviewed a few times, and he really seems like a genuinely nice guy. Who really knows though?

[Bluetree]

Cool, another pro cycling fan. Welcome.

VeloChick, please post in the Getting to Know You thread
http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=2001&page=111
so you can tell us all a bit about yourself and your bike(s)! :D

[Eden]

Levi will most likely have his chance @ the Vuelta this year. There is no question that if Ivan races (given last year's twist, and the ongoing Operation Puerto, it certainly isn't a given) this year, he will be the team leader in both the Giro, and le Tour. In terms of George, even sans Basso and Levi, Big George showed that while he can win a stage or two, he's no GC contender in the big French race.

FYI, I've seen Levi interviewed a few times, and he really seems like a genuinely nice guy. Who really knows though?


Levi may be fighting out the leadership role at the Velta with Tommy D.....

I really hope that Discovery hasn't made the mistake this year of having too many chiefs and not enough indians.(which I think has been a big detriment to T-Mobile in the past - the whole Jan-Vino-Kloden triangle - sheesh its ablsolutely amaturish to attack your own teammate in a Grand Tour!!!) I can totally understand why they jumped at the chance of getting Basso on the team. He's a real contender for the grand tours and to tell the truth I'm not sure that there was anyone on Disco with the experience or the talent to take The Tour. Levi certainly is talented, but I certainly never saw anything from him that made me think he could win the big one. There are other guys on Discovery that are really talented (Danielson - Popovich), but they are young and relatively inexperienced. It should be a rather exciting season to watch. It will be interesting to see the Giro/Tour team rosters. We'll see if Basso has the personality to inspire the others to work and give everything all for him.

[Bluetree]

I'm not sure that there was anyone on Disco with the experience or the talent to take The Tour.

You said it right there, Eden! I like Popovich and Danielson, too, and the young kid who got hot at the end of last season... Brakovich-something... the name escapes me at the moment. But I don't see a power struggle here.

Jan, Kloden and Vino all had potential as Grand Tour winners, although I always thought of Kloden as the backup guy. Vino was just a hand grenade waiting to go off. On Discovery, no one can touch Basso in the mountains and everyone knows it... and he does have the Lance Seal of Approval.

Lance wanted the guy, went after him for years, pretty much called him the heir apparent. Anyone who decides not to work for Basso has to to deal with the Lance Armstrong Staredown. And I don't think anyone on that team has the cahones to do that! :D

As for the Vuelta and some of the smaller tours, my gut instinct is that they will give the leadership to Levi, and groom Danielson as his main leuitenant. But what do I know? :rolleyes:

[Eden]

Yeah - Lance is still involved in the team and I think you said it exactly right that another rider would have to have quite the cahones to go against what Lance wants - which I'm sure is Basso 100% for the Tour.

I suspect that Levi will probably go to another team next year where he will be leader and I would completely understand it. He was leader before and that must be hard to give up.

I'm really looking forward to this year - we should finally see the match up that was missing last year Vino, Basso, maybe... Jan (if he can find a team..)

[VeloChick]

Cool, another pro cycling fan. Welcome.

VeloChick, please post in the Getting to Know You thread
http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=2001&page=111
so you can tell us all a bit about yourself and your bike(s)! :D

Done! :)

My boyfriend got me into watching pro cycling. Once I saw those hot Italian racers, I never looked back. :D

[equus123]

haha, they ARE very pretty to look at, aren't they :cool: :p