Basso pounces to take yellow jersey
Ivan Basso took his chance on the menacing Mortirolo mountain to snatch the overall lead in the Giro d'Italia yesterday with just two stages remaining.
The Italian, Giro winner in 2006 before a ban for attempted doping stalled his career, is back to his very best and showed sustained stamina to rip the pink jersey off Spain's David Arroyo on the 19th stage.
Italy's Michele Scarponi triumphed on the day, but Basso and Liquigas team-mate Vincenzo Nibali were only just behind, having boldly attacked 40 kilometres from home.
Basso leads Arroyo, who had been in command for five stages, by 51 seconds.
LIMERICK'S Willie Casey will be just three fights and 27 minutes away from pocketing £32,000 sterling when he steps into the ring for tonight's Prizefighter Series in London.
A late replacement for former World champion Wayne McCullough, Casey, nicknamed 'Big Bang', will face Liverpool southpaw Mark Moran in the super-bantamweight quarter-final as part of the one-night, eight-man dust-up -- each bout consists of three three-minute rounds.
Meanwhile, Ukraine's WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko is in buoyant mood for tonight's title defence, but is not taking the challenge of Poland's Albert Sosnowski lightly.
Klitschko (38) said: "He will do anything to get my title. I feel in top shape. I'm well prepared, but I will not underestimate him."
SAM BARRY'S glorious run in the ITF U-18 Belgian International Junior Championships came to an abrupt end when he came up short in the semi-finals yesterday, writes Paddy Hickey.
The 84-ranked Limerick right-hander struggled to find the form that had dumped out world No 14 Damir Dzumhur and top Brit Oliver Golding, when losing 6-1 6-1 to Australia's James Duckworth.
But Barry's progress to the last four of the Grade One clay event will boost his confidence for next week's French Junior Open.
- CYCLING BOXING TENNIS
Irish Independent
