BASSO UNDER FIRE IN PRESS CONFERENCE

Basso: next stop Le Tour

In his first press conference as a Discovery Channel rider, Ivan Basso confirmed he will ride both the Giro d?Italia and Tour de France in 2007 but struggled to explain his implication in Operacion Puerto.

?I feel really good and ready to race again because I?ve had a quiet November with my family after four difficult months. I?m relaxed and calm because I know I?ve got a new team and that I can start thinking about next season with the same ambition I?ve always had in the past: The Giro d?Italia and Tour de France,? Basso said.

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