Twice Giro d'Italia winner Ivan Basso, who withdrew from this year's Tour de France after revealing he had testicular cancer, has been given the all-clear following treatment, his Tinkoff-Saxo team has said.
The 37-year-old Italian felt pain in his left testicle after crashing in the fifth stage of the Tour and tests later showed he had a small tumour. Basso had surgery in Milan.
“Fabulous news on @ivanbasso! Results from final controls show no need for extra treatment. The dark period that started at @letour is over,” Tinkoff-Saxo posted on Twitter.
Basso finished third and second overall in the 2004 and 2005 Tour de France but has won the Giro - his only grand tour titles - thanks to impressive climbing performances.
His career, however, was stained with a two-year ban for his implication in the Operation Puerto blood-doping scandal.
Basso admitted to “attempted doping” in 2007 and was hit by a backdated suspension. He won the Giro in 2010, less than two years after his comeback, to add to his 2006 success. – Reuters