Publicus said:
He may be over training. You joke, but my guess is that De Jongh will definitely be on his case-we'll know next year if he's just simply too old (he's almost 6 Horner years old!) or was trying poorly before.
Basso is basically made to be a mountain super-dom, i.e. the ability to just ride a fast steady tempo for as long as required. In fact, in recent years he's been riding as a super-dom for himself

by going to the front of the small-GC group and riding tempo in order to try and prevent attacks.
I believe his poor performance this year has to be mental rather than physical, as he can't have dropped off that much since the Vuelta last year. He seems to be a someone who lets go completely if he's not in top form, while others suffer for every second in a bid to secure a top 20. E.g. He finished 20 mins down in the autobus in the US Pro yesterday. However out of shape he is, I can't believe he was truly trying there.
I think becoming a dom for a rider that's capable of winning GC (Contador) will change his mental outlook and he'll be able to get back to something close to last year's form. Not GT podium-form type form of course, but being a useful helper and perhaps doing something in smaller stage races.