Earlier this month Ivan Basso announced his retirement from professional cycling after he has recovered from testicular cancer. Now the Italian is ready for a future as a manager at Tinkoff-Saxo.

In Porec, Croatia, his former teammates will listen to himfor the first time. Who knows world champion Peter Sagan will think, the Slovakian whom he met at the time of Liquigas when he was youngster coming from mountain biking and Basso the captain looking for his second consecutive Giro win. Or Alberto Contador whose roommate and adviser he has been for a year Ivan Basso will start another career: at 37, after 17 seasons as a professional, 31 wins, two Giro victories (2006 and 2010), two podiums at the Tour and a bout of testicular cancer.

"It's like I'm back as a neo-pro like in 1999,” he told Gazzetta dello Sport. “The key principles that have made ​​me grow remain the same: perseverance, determination, hard work, sacrifice. I tell myself that I was a good rider. Yes, I was so in the past. Now that is over. I want to be a good manager and have to start from scratch and learn how to do everything. I was very impressed by the story of John Agnelli, who went to work at the factory and no one knew him. Now I begin my Masters in cycling.

"I'll be the man of confidence for everybody, a loyal companion of team managers and coaches. From Oleg Tinkov, Stefano Feltrin, team managers - many have raced with me like Michaelsen and De Jongh – the riders. I think of Tosatto who was with me already at Fassa Bortolo. I'll be a team player who wants to give and to learn. I will be a coordinator between the riders and the technical part, a person who listens and speaks to the riders, and puts them in condition to better manage critical situations. I will ride with them, I will test the equipment, I'm going to do reconnaissance of the routes. And I'll be the first to pass a cape or a bottle of hot tea on top of a hill when it’s needed.
 

"From the 9th to the 14th of November I will be at the UCI headquarters in Aigle to take a license as a sports manager, required to work in a WorldTour team. Then I will make three courses to be a sporting director with Federciclismo (the Italian Federation, ed.) I want to learn how to do everything. Even the great managers are left with humility. What I'm starting now is a different way of life. I have to take on the role of a good athlete. Every day I have to train and demonstrate the ability to transmit my qualities to others. It is a year in which I have to listen.

I'm lucky to be in this team where I have the trust of everybody, from the bottom to the top. And for this I have to be credible. Each of them knows what value I can give. They come to me or I go to their house, and need to know where I can help. I'm not a coach but beyond the technology or the email I want to be with the riders, riding with them, seeing their faces. And if I cannot ride anymore ... Well, I will take the scooter that I used in recent years so I am not dropped.
 

"I thought of a way to learn from the great coaches of sport. I will begin with Arrigo Sacchi. I will spend one day with him, talking about the team, team, team. What I have done in the past is not important. What counts now is the future. I want to learn, ask questions. I will go to Francesco Guidolin who is accustomed to hard work. I want to figure out how to manage human resources. In the team, in recent months, Ricardo (Scheidecker, the general manager) and De Jongh (main sports director) helped me a lot. I have been close to them. To me it's an important change.
 

"I have no regrets. I have stopped my career, despite having another year of contract. There are many who have appreciated it. Alberto (Contador, ed) is happy because he sees me happy. He loved my honesty, I was no longer able to race. I was lucky that I can stay in cycling. It is my life forever. "