Ivan Basso could become one of only a handful of cyclists, and the first since 1998, to win both the Tour de France and the Giro d’Italia in the same season.

Ivan Basso: The smilin' Italian

The last rider to win a double was Italian Marco “The Pirate” Pantani, in 1998. Miguel “Big Mig” Indurain did it twice, with the added distinction of back-to-back, in 1992 and 1993. Bernard “The Badger” Hinault also did it twice but not back to back, in 1982 and 1985.

Greg “LeMondster” LeMond never did it, although he prevented Laurent “The Professor” Fignon by doing it in 1989 with his legendary 8-second win over the Frenchman (and could have prevented Hinault as well in 1985, when LeMond did the devil’s handshake and let Hinault win the Tour). Eddy “The Cannibal” Merckx did it a record three times, but never back to back, in 1970, 1972 and 1974. Fausto Coppi did it in 1949 and 1952 and Jacques Anquetil once, in 1964. Irishman Stephen Roche also won a double once, in 1987.

It’s commonly thought that competing in both Grand Tours places too much stress on a cyclist, risking fatigue and injury heading from May’s Giro into July’s Tour. That and the heightened cachet of the Tour over the Giro (which may be changing; this year’s Giro was a whale of a race and drew daily live coverage in the U.S. for the first time) left top-drawer riders wanting to focus on the Tour.

A Tour win this year would elevate Basso, the cherub-faced Italian whose signature out-of-the-saddle climbing style is underlined by an almost beatific smile (or would that be a grimace?), to the rarefied ranks of “Grand Slam” cyclists. One thing already in his favor — he has a nickname, “Ivan the Terrible.”

It’s just another sub-context of intrigue salting this year’s Tour de France drama.

First, our local hero, Wenatchee’s Tyler Farrar, says his goal is not the green jersey but simply his first Tour stage win ever. Or maybe two. Or actually, if by some freak happenstance (such as Mark the Mouth Cavendish getting disqualified or something) he did manage to qualify for the green jersey — well, hey, he wouldn’t turn it down.

Then there’s the flap over at Team Saxo Bank, where they’re whispering that Andy and Frank Schleck, Nos. 2 and 5 in last year’s Tour, are set to bolt to a new team based in their home base of Luxembourg and captained by Kim Andersen, formerly with Saxo.

And Ivan Basso would love to match his Giro title with a Tour win … on a Cannondale of course.

As for Lance Armstrong and his Team Radio Shack, they’re making headlines by keeping quiet. No press conference, no pre-race hoopla. Speculation is that TRS doesn’t want to face a press corps full of questions about doping, but our suspicion is that neither Lance nor team manager Johan Bruyneel, who would be the natural focus of a press event, have much to add to what’s been said, or at least tweeted, already. Brer Fox he lay low. Brer Fox he say nothin’.

UPDATE! Lance tweeted that Stage 3, the cobblestoned nightmare, is and we quote: “Going. To. Be. Carnage.” As cool as Lance is for biking, we love how he really truly “gets” Twitter.

A dope-free Giro would have been a laughable prospect just a couple of years ago. Italian racing legacy is full of substance abusers, most notoriously the sad case of Marco Pantani.

Yet a clean Giro is apparently (so far) what happened this May. And it was two former banned riders — eventual winner (and Italian) Ivan Basso and leading contender Alexander Vinokourov — who led the way (additional contender Cadel Evans has maintained a clean record and anti-doping stance all along) in saying they wanted a clean slate.

But the post-doping era is about to get its toughest test with the upcoming Tour de France. The Tour is where the biggest dollars get invested, and where the stakes are far and away so much higher that the temptations are irrevocably greater.

Still, there is reason to suspect that this will be the cleanest Tour in years as well.

Not only is the pressure on from within the ranks of the athletes themselves, the French anti-doping authorities are upping their administrative role. The French long have clashed with the official cycling governance body (and doping regulator), the UCI, whom they accuse of being intentionally lax and sloppy in testing and oversight. In this Tour the French have promised to conduct their own testing above and beyond the UCI’s.

Then there’s the issue of the doping cloud hanging over several Team Radio Shack competitors, notably Lance Armstrong, as well as team manager Johan Bruyneel. As charming as Bruyneel can be, he’s been a bit thin-skinned lately in responding not only to the doping allegations but in mishandling Team Radio Shack’s rejection by Tour of Spain officialdom. He and TRS will be even more in the glare during the Tour and need a bit more aplomb if they want to deflect scrutiny and curry fandom.

For his part, Armstrong already has embarked on his tried-and-true “I’m not worthy” strategy after finishing a surprising and impressive second in the Tour of Switzerland.

For Lance, who answers doping allegations by patiently pointing out he’s never tested positive, the Tour is a damned-if-you-do-and-don’t scenario.

The guy is closing in on 39. The oldest Tour winner in history was 36, and that was nearly a century ago. If Lance somehow were to win or even fiercely contend, he will face more brutal scrutiny and suspicion than ever in his storied career.

If he fails to contend, however, cynics will suggest it merely goes to show that in a post-doping environment, Lance cannot win.

We doubt Lance will be in the thick of this year’s race, but it may have nothing to do with doping. He has not done enough riding this spring to be competition-hardened. Other contenders, notably Contador and Andy Schleck, have the same problem. But the Giro headliners of Basso, Vinokourov, Evans and Vincenzo Nibali, this year’s surprise star, do not have that excuse, and there are enough other toned riders to challenge that Lance may find himself a victim of training and youth.

We also wonder if this isn’t Lance’s final Tour. The doping investigation is bound to take a toll eventually, and Team Radio Shack’s disinvites from the Giro and the Vuelta have sent a pretty clear message that something is awry with TRS’s reputation.

Even if Lance emerges from the drug scandals unscathed (or at least unindicted), he doesn’t strike us as a middle-of–the-pack guy.

We’re going to enjoy watching The King and that hunkered out-of-the-saddle style of his and his black socks and steely eyes on this Tour, figuring it may well be our last chance to do so in the world’s primo cycling event.

Today’s penultimate stage of the 2010 Giro d’Italia was highlighted by the legendary Passo di Gavia, this year’s edition’s highest point. The 20th stage packed nearly 20,000 feet of elevation gain (over five climbs) into just 110 miles of riding. While none of the stretches was particularly steep by this year’s Giro standards, that’s a lot of stomping on the pedals.

For us mere mortals, consider some comparisons:

Giro d'Italia 2010, Stage 20 profile, including the majestic Gavia Pass

The Terrible Two through the tough rolling country around Santa Rosa features 16,500 feet of climbing — but that’s over a course of 200 miles.

The Son of Death Ride near Los Angeles, billed as the “toughest one-day road ride in the U.S.,” features 17,000 feet of climbing over 138 miles.

These are as brutal as endurance races get, and they can’t touch the suffering inflicted by today’s Giro stage.

For all that, the racing was not as dramatic as yesterday’s stage. Only Cadel Evans mounted a serious attack, and it was too late (over the final climb) to matter. Through most of the course, the leaders seemed content to concede the overall victory to Ivan Basso, who rode inspiringly and convincingly to take the pink jersey yesterday.

So the 2010 Giro is pretty much over, and those of us following it day-by-day on Universal Sports via its (and Italian televison’s) live coverage have to feel a twinge of regret. In terms of pure racing drama, head-shaking unpredictability and climactic twists and turns, this year’s Giro ranks among the great Grand Tours of all time. It didn’t have Lance (who will end his career never having won a Giro) or Alberto Contador, who won it two years ago. But the other big names were there, and the action was nonpareil.

The Giro will be a tough act to follow for this year’s Tour de France, beginning July 3. Let’s hope the Giro’s challenges have put its contenders — Basso, Cadel Evans, Alexander Vinokourov, Carlos Sastre — into peak form to challenge Contador and the others in the Tour, making a real race out of another Grand Tour.

As today’s riveting Giro d’Italia Stage 19 proved, downhilling can be just as thrilling as ascending.

In the mountain biking world, of course, downhilling is a whole separate World Cup event and series. As we watched the world’s top pro road riders take wide turns, brake at the wrong time and fail to leverage banking, we wondered if they shouldn’t hire someone like world champion Steve Peat or former rainbow jersey holder Sam Hill to advise on descending ability.

One rider did stand out: Race leader David Arroyo of Caisse d’Épargne, who made up a stunning minute on the stage leader, Ivan Basso, during the descent down from the vicious climb up legendary Passo del Mortirolo, averaging 10 percent grade over eight miles. On rain-slickened pavement, Arroyo was a velo zephyr, gliding through turns and bulleting down straights like he was riding aloft.

It looked like Arroyo might have saved his pink jersey as race leader with his alacritous descent. It was not to be — Ivan Basso rode into the lead with power and grace up Mortirolo and the final climb to Aprica — but for us, Arroyo’s flight down was as memorable a ride as Stage 19 had to offer. If anything, the stage showed why ascending skills are so much more crucial on the road, and why descending gets little attention. Basso not only made up gaps he lost on descent, he improved on his margins.

Tomorrow's brutal stage, and snow may fall!

Other favorites, Cadel Evans (BMC), Alexander Vinokourov (Astana) and Carlos Sastre (Cervelo), were bunched with Arroyo across the finish line three minutes behind Basso’s break.

Unless Arroyo can pull off a miracle, or something untoward happens to Basso, the 2010 Giro d’Italia belongs to the Italian, who won the Giro in 2006. Tomorrow’s mountain stage, even more brutal than today’s (plus snow may fall), could provide an opportunity for Arroyo — if it went further downhill than up. As it is, the stage will peak over hallowed Gavia Pass, the highest point of this year’s Giro and the fourth of five withering climbs in the stage.

Full VeloNews report.

No change in the general classification: It’s still David Arroyo (Caisse d’Epargne) followed by Ivan Basso (Liquigas), Richie Porte (Saxo Bank) and Cadel Evans (BMC).

The Australian Porte, a genuine surprise in this year’s Giro, doesn’t think he can win but wants the top young rider’s title. Arroyo isn’t on par on the climbs with Evans and Basso so far, but has enough of a cushion that he may be able to hold onto the leader’s jersey just long enough for the overall title. Smart money is on Basso, but Evans has shown some real grit and also really wants to win his first Grand Tour. The other pre-race favorites, Alexander Vinokourov (Astana) and Carlos Sastre (Cervelo), have fallen off the pace and not shown top form in the mountain stages. But they shouldn’t be counted out quite yet either.

It all will make for fascinating racing, particularly on the punishing mountain stages of Friday and Saturday.

More from VeloNews.

They’re laying it all on the line. But from a spectator standpoint, they might as well be at spinning class.

Leave it to this year’s Giro to throw in a diabolical wrinkle. Two days after the punishing climb of Monte Zoncolan, riders were cast back into the cauldron of oxygen debt and altitudinal nausea.

For the record, David Arroyo (ESP) held onto the pink jersey, although his lead shrank over rivals Ivan Basso (Liquigas) and Cadel Evans (BMC). Riding out of the saddle much of the route, Evans placed a surprising 28 seconds ahead of Basso, cutting Basso’s advantage almost in half.

Basso is now second overall, and Evans fourth.

The 13-kilometer profile of the Plan de Corones looked like the long side of a carpenter’s level. The final 1-kilometer kicker included a stretch of 24 percent grade, just how you like to finish a hard ride out of the saddle.

Plus much of the route is dirt and gravel, always a pace killer. And there was a headwind at the top. The only factor working in the riders’ favor today was the sunny weather, in the 70s at the start and the 50s at the top of the dirt climb.

Carlos Sastre, a strong climber, was riding a 34 X 28 gear, the only place outside Zoncolan and Angliru (Spain) where the bike gets fitted that low, according to his team mechanic (and VeloNews’ Andrew Hood).

Never in the Tour de France. This climb is that brutal.

34 X 28 … that’s our spinning gear! (Sastre, alas, was the day’s big disappointment, looking listless over most of the route and never challenging for the stage win.)

Alberto Contador, the winner of 2008′s Giro, finished fourth in this time trial at 40:48. The winner, Franco Pellizotti, averaged 19.14 kilometers an hour.

Most of the times in today’s stage, won by 2000 Giro overall champion Stefano Garzelli in 41:28, were well off the 2008 pace. It could be the result of the Giro’s difficulty level so far, and of Monte Zoncolan two days ago.

Also possible, in our view, is that the slower times are another pointer toward this year’s Giro as the true start of the post-doping era. The 2008 winner, Pellizotti, is under suspension for doping violations, and the No. 5 place, Riccardo Ricco, was suspended not long after the 2008 Giro for doping as well. The top six riders in 2008 were faster than today’s winning time over the same course.

On-road conditions also play a role, but today’s weather was perfect. Let’s hope it stays that way through the closing mountainous stages of the Giro.

The Giro d’Italia may be wearing the new mantle.

Ivan Basso, riding with his characteristic smile and/or grimace but with the methodical power and grace of a mountain lion on the attack, took the agonizingly steep but incomparably thrilling Monte Zoncolan, the 15th stage of the Giro — vaulting him into third place in the general classification and more than a minute ahead of his closest rival, Cadel Evans.

Spaniard David Arroyo maintained the leader’s pink jersey, but lost more than three minutes to Basso. Tomorrow’s rest day will prove a temporary respite from mountain pain over the final week of the Giro.

For a time Evans managed to duke it out with Basso. But Cadel was out of the saddle much of the time, expending precious upper-body strength while Basso simply ground out the gears in his saddle up the relentless grade.

The middle 6 kilometers of the climb — the day’s fourth — averaged 15 percent — which any cyclist who pays attention to such things knows is a world of hurt just over a few hundred feet. There were 22 percent pitches on the final 3 kilometers. To see world champion cyclists pedaling with the cadence and fatigue of weekend riders climbing was quite a sight. You don’t normally find that kind of suffering, even in the Tour de France.

It may be proof that the post-doping era has finally taken root in the Giro, because the slumped shoulders and saliva ropes and sunken cheeks and vacant expressions of the final climb testified to real sacrifice. During the height of the doping era riders would show hardly any signs of true suffering, and there was always the sense that their physical limits had less to do with god-given genetics than whether they were juiced that particular day.

Among the top three favorites of this year’s Giro, Evans is the only rider with unimpeachable credentials. Basso and Alexander Vinokourov both have been banned from the sport — and now returned — after testing positive. Evans has maintained from the beginning he was never part of the doping circle of cycling, and his results have never given any reason to doubt.

So far this year’s Giro has been “clean” (full testing cannot be completed till after the race is over), in contrast to the Landis-Lance eruptions going on over in the U.S. Let’s hope the Italian classic stays that way.

The champions of this year’s unbelievably exciting Giro — and the public who has followed them — deserve to have their victories and legacies unbesmirched in one of the most memorable Grand Tours of all time.