ROME, May 5, 2009 (AFP) – World champion cyclist Alessandro Ballan says former Tour of Italy winner Ivan Basso is the favourite for this year’s event over debutant Lance Armstrong.

Seven-time Tour de France champion Armstrong will be competing in his first Giro after coming out of retirement last year. He stepped away from competitive cycling following the last of his Tour de France victories in 2005.

Armstrong’s return has been a shot in the arm for the sport, but a fractured collarbone sustained at the end of March has hampered the Texan’s preparations for the centenary Giro.

The 2006 Giro winner Basso, meanwhile, is back from a two-year doping suspension following his involvement in the infamous Operation Puerto scandal.

And Italian compatriot Ballan believes Basso will be the man to beat on home turf.

“If it wasn’t for the broken collarbone, I think Armstrong could have ridden for the overall title,” said Ballan.

“But now I think he’s competing mostly because of an earlier commitment, with the possibility of aiming for stage wins.”

The Tour of Italy begins on Saturday with a team time-trial in Venice.

Armstrong’s Astana team-mate Alberto Contador is the reigning champion but is not competing as he concentrates on the Tour de France, which he won in 2007.

File Photo by: CorVos Pro