Let's start with some thoughts on Basso to Discovery. This whole year has been about who might replace LA, not only as the boss of the peloton, but also as the head of Discovery Channel Pro Cycling. The answer, for most, didn't come as quickly or as decisively as some of LA's past exploits in the Pyrennes or Alps, but the correct answer has finally arrived.
Early, some looked to "Gentleman" George Hincapie, the faithful lieutenant, to pick up the mantle, but his crash in the Queen of the Classics set his preparations back and he was never able to recover the form which helped him win a Stage in the 2005 TDF. Others looked to Bad (or should he now be referred to as Badder) Boy Floyd Landis. After his dramatic come from behind win in the TDF, Floyd not only looked but sounded the part. Then the wheels literally came spinning off.
Enter Ivan Basso...
Although he is Italian and has never ridden on the same team as LA, Basso was a close Armstrong confidant during a time when Basso's mother underwent cancer treatment. Basso has also been as close to an LA apprentice as one could imagine without actually being on the same team. His climbing style of "dancing on the pedals," as Phil Liggett might remark, is reminiscent of the low gear, high octance cadence that LA once employed, and he has become an excellent time trialists. His recent and decisive victory in the Giro d'Italia, only confirmed his talent in the Grand Tours. Now he's on the only American sponsored Pro Tour team...
So come next summer, from the North End of Boston to Little Italy in San Diego, Italian-Americans will have more than the World Cup to celebrate, and American cycling fans should start getting used to Grappa rather than Shiner Bock.
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