Ivan Basso

Ivan Basso is an Italian former professional road bicycle racer who last raced with UCI ProTeam TinkoffSaxo. Basso, nicknamed Ivan the Terrible, was considered among the best mountain riders in the professional field in the early 21st century, and was considered one of the strongest stage race riders. He is a double winner of the Giro dItalia, having won the 2006 edition and the 2010 edition of the Italian Grand Tour whilst riding for Team CSC in 2006 and for Liquigas in 2010. However, in 2007 Basso admitted he was planning to use doping and was suspended for two years. His suspension ended onOctober 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 later returned to racing in his home tour and in 2010, he won his second Giro dItalia while riding for LiquagisDomo, winning two stages along the way.

He was born in Gallarate, in the province of Varese in Lombardy. There he grew up next door to Claudio Chiappucci, a former threetime stage winner in the Tour de France who was suspended for two years after being proven guilty of doping several times.

Source: Wikipedia