Here’s a picture of Basso’s P3C ready for the 1.5k(!) prologue on Saturday.
This and more photos are available at the CSC team site.
Interesting - looks like another rider going for the the straight aerobar extensions.
I thought that but given that he will only be on it for 1.5k, will it be long enough for him to feel any adverse effects? I can’t recall what shape he normally uses.
Seems Ivan is really up for the Giro and should make a good stab at it given the team that will be supporting him.
April 28, 2005
 **Ivan Basso celebrates stage victory over Lance Armstrong in 2004 Tour de France**
The cycling world hasn’t heard a lot from Ivan Basso so far in the 2005 racing season, but that’s about to change.
After ripping through last year’s Tour de France, winning a stage and finishing third overall, the Team CSC rider has set his sights on another target: the Giro d’Italia.
The 2005 Giro starts May 7 in Reggio Calabria in the “toe” of Italy’s boot and Basso will be lining up as one of the top favorites for overall victory.
After his breakthrough Tour performance, Basso spent the winter reconsidering his career. After shining in the three consecutive Tours, the 26-year-old Italian wanted a new challenge for the coming season.
Rather than shoot once again for the Tour, Basso decided he’d like to win the Giro, considered cycling’s most-prized race behind the Tour. Well, if you’re Italian, those two might be flip-flopped.
But Basso hasn’t forgotten about the Tour.
Throwing current cycling conventional wisdom on its head, Basso will make a run for victory in both the Giro and the Tour in the same season. After finishing the Giro—ideally on the top spot on the podium—Basso will recover and tackle the Tour come July.
Csc.com recently spoke with Basso, who expressed his ambitions in the upcoming Giro d’Italia. Following are some excerpts of that interview:
csc.com: When did you decide to race Giro?
Ivan Basso: “I started to think about it in October and November. I wanted a new challenge. Last year in the Tour, many people were saying to me, ‘Ivan, please race the Giro.’ I contacted Bjarne in November and I explained to him that I wanted to make a slow start, but have my form arrive in the Giro and do the Giro full-gas. Then not race between the Giro and the Tour and then try to do a nice Tour. For me, I don’t know if it’s possible. In my head, it’s possible, and this is the most important. I have motivation for in my heart. I am ready to try something new.”
csc.com: How many Giros have you raced in your career?
IB: “Two. In 1999, I didn’t finish. In 2000, I made it to Milan.”
csc.com: Why didn’t you race the Giro before?
IB: “Because at Fassa Bortolo, they always had a captain for Giro—Dario Frigo, Aitor Gonzalez—but no one wanted to go to the Tour, so I went instead.”
csc.com: Was the idea to race the Giro something that came from you or from Bjarne Riis?
IB: “The main reason is because I am Italian and the people in Italy have asked me to race the Giro. I am so happy for this. I will try to give something to the tifosi . I will try this new solution. I think everybody will be happy in the end of the season.”
csc.com: How did Riis react when you told him?
IB: “He didn’t speak for 20 seconds, then he said, ‘Let me think about it for a few days and call you back.’ Then he called me back and said he was supporting the idea. Now he’s very excited about it.”
csc.com: Many people say it’s not possible to do well in both the Giro and Tour in the same year?
IB: “It’s a new experience to race both the Giro and Tour, it’s not easy. You need a strong head. I don’t think so much now in the Tour. I’ve looked at the course, but the Giro, I’ve thought about it everyday. Once I finish the Giro, then I will think about the Tour.”
csc.com: Many people believe you can win the Tour de France, why suddenly shift your focus to the Giro?
IB: “It’s not easy to win the Tour this year. I did a very nice Tour last year, a very strong Tour, but not nearly strong enough to win. I still lost 5 to 6 minutes to Lance (Armstrong)—that’s a lot of time. I think it’s better to talk about winning the Tour when you arrive closer to the winner, not six minutes away. That’s a big difference.”
csc.com: What’s the difference between the Giro and the Tour?
IB: “The Tour and the Giro aren’t the same. If you finish third in the Tour, then you can go to try to win the Giro. The objective is to get onto the podium, but when Armstrong isn’t there, the other guys are more human.”
csc.com: Damiano Cunego, who won the Giro last year, will be very difficult to beat. Do you see him as your top rival? Or is it Gilberto Simoni?
IB: “I’m not thinking about Cunego and Simoni, I only think about me and my team. My goal is to bring the best form in the start of the Giro and after that I will look in the race to see who is strong —Cunego, Simoni, (Stefano) Garzelli, Spanish guys. If I am the same Ivan in the Tour, I won’t have a problem doing the Giro.”
csc.com: If you win Giro, would it mean more to you than third place in the Tour?
IB: “I don’t think about this. This is talk for the journalists. Many people think that finishing third in the Tour is more important, but for an Italian guy, winning the Giro is very important. Every person has their own idea.”
csc.com: How has your life changed since last year? Are you a big star in Italy now?
IB: “It’s nice. Every day photographs and television . It’s good for the sport, good for the Giro—how can it be bad? The race is another thing. Then, there is no talking, only legs. I think now about my work and my training.”
csc.com: How do you deal with the pressure of being a favorite?
IB: “The most important thing is the confidence in yourself. That’s what Bjarne teaches us. You have to believe in yourself always. I focus on what I have to do—train, race, rest—it’s all OK. This is where Bjarne has helped me a lot. He’s helped me so much with his philosophy. You have to be a killer, but it’s not possible to change like this to that so fast. It’s not so easy.”
I cannot remember either. At least they are not pointing downwards like Jan’s 
- I see in an advert from Oval in CW that they are selling straight extensions, s-bends, one kick and two kick extensions for there aero bars. It will be interesting to see if straight extensions become more popular like s-bends.
Looks like CSC all ride straight extensions, if this picture from last year’s td is any indication:
Yeah, I saw the same ad. Did you see the insane price for just the extensions? If I recall correctly they were about £75!
£75 for a straight bit of tube - I am diffinatly in the wrong busniess 
.
That seat mast is SO cool!
-Colin
Almost as cool as the Kaliber’s!
What’s the meaning of your signature line?
Personally I am drooling for when I can finally get some VTs with straight extensions… for those of us with short torsos this means a chance to finally get the knee clearance we’ve been waiting for. (the straight bars allow the pads to be closer to the wrist than traditional bars because you get easier leverage)
That is a cool bike.
Just go and buy a pair of 270 or 290’s and cut the ends off, then switch the plates from one side to the other which will move them forward and out of your way. Switching them will move them about an inch or so.