Cycling: Basso recovers to win his first Giro stage

LIMONE PIEMONTE, Italy - Ivan Basso of Italy recovered from stomach problems to win the 194km 17th stage of the Giro d'Italia cycling race.

The CSC rider lost 40 minutes on last Sunday's stage 14 to Livigno and almost quit the Giro but bounced back to win his first ever stage at the Giro.

The 27-year-old attacked alone 7kms from the mountain-top finish to win one minute and six seconds ahead of Venezuela's Jose Rujano.

Italy's Gilberto Simoni was third in the same time after making a late surge to gain time on race leader and compatriot Paolo Savoldelli.

Savoldelli finished seventh, 1min 48sec behind Basso, but retained the overall race lead.

He now leads Simoni by 58 seconds with Rujano third at 1:24. Italy's Danilo Di Luca finished 16th on the stage and slipped to fourth place overall, 1:36 behind Savoldelli.

"I wanted to win a stage to make up for not winning overall as I'd hoped," Basso said.

"It wasn't easy to find the mental strength to pick myself up after my problems but my CSC team mates worked hard throughout the stage and then I managed to win with a good attack on the climb to the finish."

Basso is already looking ahead to July's Tour de France when he will try to stop Lance Armstrong winning a seventh time.

"I was bitterly disappointed not to be able to fight for overall (Giro) victory but I've learnt an important lesson for the future," the Italian said.

"I'll be back to try and win the Giro next year, while doing well in the Tour de France will now be even more important for me."

Friday's 18th stage is a 34-km individual time trial from Chieri to Turin. The Giro ends in Milan on Sunday.

- REUTERS