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Disgraced former Giro d’Italia champion Ivan Basso said Thursday that his two-year doping suspension was the best thing that could have happened to him. Basso was tipped to win the 2006 Tour de France, shortly after cruising to victory in the Giro, but he was caught up in the infamous Operación Puerto scandal and barred from taking part. He later admitted to having contacted the tainted laboratory involved in the affair with plans to engage in blood-doping, a move that earned him a two-year ban from the sport. He has spent his time working for various charities.

For the third consecutive year, the international mountain bike teams, tech support and race organizers’ group (IMTTO) has awarded the prestigious IMTTO Event Of The Year trophy to Rare Management, organizers of the UCI mountain-bike and trials world championships held in Fort William, Scotland. The management firm also hosted rounds of the UCI World Cup in Fort William starting in 2002, and won the IMTTO award for its World Cup rounds in 2005 and 2006.

ProTour teams issued a statement Thursday calling on non-ProTour teams to join them in adopting the so-called biological passport. The International Professional Cycling Teams (IPCT), which represents the 17 ProTour teams, said it would refuse to compete with Continental teams that do not adopt the anti-doping measure. "The 17 ProTour teams will only agree to race against teams from the Professional ranks (Continental teams) if they adopt the biological passport for their riders," said the IPCT statement.

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Dear Readers,
Two weeks ago, we received a letter to the editor from Darin Baer asking about the availability of insurance for expensive bikes. We received several letters in response, including one asking about protection for the rider. We figured all of it might be a good subject for our legal columnist to take on. - Editor

Dear VeloNews,

Self Portrait in Ocotillo CA

L. H. “Ronnie” Thomson, president of the L.H. Thomson Company, died on Sunday. He was 68. Thomson was born on January 17, 1939, in Byron, Georgia. An entrepreneur, inventor, and philanthropist, he was best known in cycling circles for the high-end seat posts and stems his company made. The L.H. Thomson Company holds numerous patents on its components, and has sold more than 1 million Thomson-label products.

Retired Dutch cyclist Michael Boogerd and his former teammate Denis Menchov have denied any connection to a laboratory targeted by anti-doping authorities for storing athletes' blood. The duo were among a number of athletes, including former Tour de France leader Michael Rasmussen and a number of biathletes and cross country skiers, named in a report Tuesday by German television channel ARD as clients of Vienna-based laboratory Humanplasma.

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