Basso exits Tour due to cancer
July 13, 2015
Italian cyclist Ivan Basso has announced that he is dropping out of the Tour de France after being diagnosed with testicular cancer.
The two-time winner of the Giro d'Italia confirmed the news at a press conference on Monday. The news has come as a blow to Tinkoff-Saxo team who expected Basso to support Alberto Contador in the mountain stages, which begin on Tuesday.
After a small crash in the fifth stage last week, Basso experienced some discomfort and has withdrawn from the event ahead of a trip back to Italy for treatment.
"For a few days I felt a small pain," he said at the team hotel on Monday. "Yesterday (Sunday) our doctor spoke with the doctor of the Tour and we decided to go to make a special analysis to the hospital.
"The examination gave me bad news: I have a small cancer in the left testicle.So it's easy to understand that I have to stop and go back to Italy.
"Our doctor is already in contact with the specialist in Italy to fix the operation as soon as possible."
Basso was a keen supporter of Contador in his efforts to win the yellow jersey, a month after the Spanish rider won the Giro d'Italia with the help of the Italian at his side.
Contador wants to use the news to stir his side on to victory and said he would dedicate a win in Paris to the 37-year-old who was suspended for two years as part of a blood-doping scandal.
"I have grown closer to Ivan in the past weeks and this is terrible news," the Spaniard said.