Basso given all-clear to race after cancer operation

The 37-year-old Italian felt pain in his left testicle after crashing in the fifth stage of the Tour and tests later showed he had a small tumour. Basso had surgery in Milan.

(Reuters)

"Fabulous news on @ivanbasso! Results from final controls show no need for extra treatment. The dark period that started at @letour is over," Tinkoff-Saxo posted on Twitter.

Basso finished third and second overall in the 2004 and 2005 Tour de France but has won the Giro -- his only grand tour titles -- thanks to impressive climbing performances.

His career, however, was stained with a two-year ban for his implication in the Operation Puerto blood-doping scandal.

Basso admitted to "attempted doping" in 2007 and was hit by a backdated suspension. He won the Giro in 2010, less than two years after his comeback, to add to his 2006 success.

(Writing by Ken Ferris; Editing by Greg Stutchbury)