Team Cannondale has been struck by illness just days ahead of the Giro d’Italia. Today the Italian team confirmed that two-time winner Ivan Basso will not be on the start line in Naples on Saturday for the Italian Grand Tour.

Evidently Basso is suffering from a cyst in an unidentified place. His slot in the Cannondale team for the Giro will be taken by Damiano Caruso. The cyst was discovered on Wednesday and the team frenetically but unsuccessfully sought to cure the problem with antibiotics.

"This morning, upon waking, after a further evaluation of the lesion it was clear that there was no chance of Ivan racing in the coming days. Dr. Corsetti, in agreement with the athlete, and with the team, decided that it was best not to start the race," the team said in a press release according to Italian daily Gazzetta dello Sport. Basso is scheduled to return home on Thursday.

Now 35, Basso, who won the Giro in 2006 and 2010, has strained to reach peak condition during the past twelve months. In 2012 he finished a respectable 5th in the Giro without coming close to seriously challenging for overall victory and subsequently he came 25th in the Tour de France after struggling with illness. This year his best result was 4th overall in the Settimana Ciclistica Internazionale Coppi-Bartali.