Basso pleases the boss

ByEurosport

Published 25/05/2006 at 10:23 GMT

Earning comparisons to Lance Armstrong, Ivan Basso's brilliant Giro D'Italia performance has given Bjarne Riis reason to smile. After Basso continued grinding his rivals into dust with a second-place finish in Stage 17, the CSC team-boss said that Basso w

CYCLING 2005 Bjarne Riis CSC

Image credit: Imago

A former Tour de France victor himself, who rode with seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong at US Postal Service, Riis knows a champion when he sees one.

According to Team CSC's website, Riis told Gazzetta Dello Sport that this year's Basso would have beaten last year's Lance Armstrong at the Grande Boucle, as proven by his dominance in the 2006 Tour of Italy.

"Basso is clearly the strongest rider this year in the Giro," Riis told the team website. "Basso is at the level you see at the Tour de France and it´s obvious the others are not."

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Riis added that without a catastrophe, the pink jersey now belonged to Basso, who is planning on attempting a Tour-Giro double when the TDF begins in July.

"We are now in a very good position and only a crash or illness can stop Ivan from winning," Riis acknowledged the fact that Basso's Giro rivals already know all too well.

"Of course, we cannot let our guard down and we cannot celebrate anything until Milan. We saw what happened last year [Basso lost nearly an hour on one stage due to illness in the 2005 Giro] and we won't forget that."

After Basso's second victory in Stage 16, Riis praised his protégé's performance on Tuesday as historic.

"What Ivan did out there today will most likely pass over into history as one of the great stage wins in the Giro," Riis said after the win. "He proved that he's the strongest rider in the Giro and probably one of the greatest riders in the sport at the moment."

Follow LIVE coverage of the 2006 Giro D'Italia all the way up to the final stage in Milan on May 28 right here on www.eurosport.com.

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