Giro: Man on a Mission

With a six-minute lead over the guy in second place, Ivan Basso didn't need to win today's stage of the Giro d'Italia to safeguard his top spot on the podium in Milan tomorrow. But because his wife gave birth to their second child yesterday, a boy called Santiago, he wanted to win. In fact, he carried a photograph of his new baby boy in his jersey for the entire seven-plus hours he was in the saddle today, only to hoist it above his head as he crossed the finish line first - which he did, in fantastic style. There's no doubt who the boss was this year.

From CyclingNews.com comes this tidbit:

Holding a slightly crumpled, sweat-stained picture of his day-old son with both hands (who he still has not seen in the flesh), it was perhaps the most emotion-charged Basso we've seen since the race began, almost three weeks ago.

"I did it for my son Santiago and my wife Micaela," said Basso. "I had [the photo] with me in my pocket during the stage; a photographer gave me the photo of my son this morning, and my gesture at the finish line wasn't something I had thought about - I was so happy, I felt I had to express my emotions."

Basso holding the picture of his new baby as he won today's stage. Picture from here.

So, with tomorrow's stage being largely ceremonial from Basso's standpoint (it'll be a sprinter's stage, which won't concern him), he's secured his place in history as the winner of the 2006 Giro d'Italia. His goal at the end of last season was to try for the double - the Giro and the Tour de France in one year - so we'll see if he can recover the superior form he's exhibited for the last three weeks in time for the Tour in July.