Basso: Lance Armstrong to be a “rampaging beast” at the Tour de France

Ivan Basso says that Lance Armstrong will be a “rampaging beast” at the Tour de France. With the experience of seven wins, Basso says that Armstrong can ride the tour like no one else. Furthermore, he sees no difficulties between Armstrong, Levi Leipheimer and Alberto Contador, saying that team manager Johan Bruyneel has overseen 10 Grand Tour victories and knows how to run squads to victory.

Armstrong celebrated the first win of his comeback, winning the (small but tough) Nevada City Classic over the weekend.

More Tour de France news:

• Saxo Bank for the TdF: Andy Schleck, Frank Schleck, Fabian Cancellara, Stuart O’Grady, Jens Voigt, Nicki Sørensen, Chris Anker Sørensen, Gustav Larsson and Kurt-Asle Arvesen. [I'm really surprised to see Frank Schleck in there as he has been plagued by persistent knee problems this season - Ed.]
• Francaise de Jeux announced their selection today as well: Sandy Casar, Jérôme Coppel, Anthony Geslin, Christophe Le Mevel, Yauheni Hutarovich, Sébastien Joly, Benoît Vaugrenard and Jussi Veikkanen will definitely start. The ninth spot will go to either Jeremy Roy or Remy Di Gregorio.
• Carlos Sastre is taking a pass on the Spanish national championships in favor of a calm run-up to the start of the Tour.
• Alberto Contador, on the other hand, will run the time trial race at the Spanish champs to refine his position on a new Trek time trial bike.
• Katusha’s Gert Steegmans has been told that he must sign the team’s new anti-doping contract charter or stay home from the Tour de France.
• Tom Boonen is still holding out hope for the race, lawsuit pending…
• Linus Gerdemann will be spending some additional time training in the Alps after a frustrating showing at the Tour of Switzerland.
• Many pros will be heading to their national championships in the next couple of weeks, hoping to wear their national colors with pride in the Tour.

Racing News:

• National criterium champ Rahsaan Bahati must love Rock Racing. He was a pro with the team from 2007 until August of last year when they bumped him down to their amateur squad due to team size restrictions. He just signed a new pro contract with the team, however, and will race the June 28th Manhattan Beach Grand Prix as a pro. He received the same salary as an amateur that he did as a pro, so I’m sure that has something to do with him sticking around.
• UCI president Patrick McQuaid feels that the UCI’s biological passport program has proven to be a wonderful deterrent to doping. [If there are only 50 dopers out of 840 being tested, that's probably pretty good, but we still have 50 to go, along with a huge culture shift to make - Ed.]
• Windham Mountain Resort in New York will host the 2010 UCI Mountain Bike World Cups finals August 28-29, 2010.
• British Cycling has announced that Birmingham will host the UCI BMX World Championships in May 2012, just three months before the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
• Rabobank rider Pedro Horillo will be released from the hospital this week.  He has been laid up since his fall into a ravine during the Giro d’Italia on May 16th.
• Danilo di Luca is in negotiation with five Pro Tour teams. One team is said to be registered in Italy and the rest are from outside the country. Whether he will make the move before the Tour de France remains to be seen.
• Kenny Dehaes, formerly of Katusha, has been linked with Silence Lotto, but S-L team management, but team general manager Geert Coeman is not so sure yet.
• Alejandro Valverde stills sits at the top of the UCI world rankings after the Tour of Switzerland. Valverde’s Caisse d’Epargne team still owns the team rankings, but Columbia-Highroad has strong momentum and will likely take over the lead in the next month.
• Ex-pro rider Nico Mattan has recently become active as a cycling manager. The winner of many races, including Gent-Wevelgem, is involved in supervising and managing cyclists for Sports Entertainment Group Belgium.

Results:

• Ina-Yoko Teutenberg won the fifth edition of the Star Zeeuw Schenardi Islands.
  Columbia-Highroad’s Marco Pinotti has once again earned the right to wear the Italian national time trial champion’s jersey.
• Frenchman Johan Mombaerts (Auber 93) won the 4th and final stage of the Route du Sud in Castres. Przemyslaw Niemec (Miche Sylver Cross) won the overall.
• Fabian Cancellara took home the overall title at the Tour of Switzerland.
• Britain’s Emma Pooley took home the win at the Grande Boucle Femenine – The Women’s Tour de France.

Tags: alberto contador, Alejandro Valverde, andy schleck, Caisse d'Epargne, danilo di luca, Emma Pooley, Fabian Cancellara, Francaise de Jeux, frank schleck, Gert Steegmans, Ina-Yoko Teutenberg, Ivan Basso, jens voigt, jeremy roy, johan bruyneel, Lance, Lance Armstrong, Levi Leipheimer, linus gerdemann, manhattan beach grand prix, marco pinotti, National Championships, Patrick McQuaid, Rabobank, Racing News, Rahsaan Bahati, Sandy Casar, Saxo Bank, Stuart O'Grady, Tom Boonen, Tour de France News, UCI BMX World Championships, World Championships