Funerali marco pantani biography
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The sudden death on Saturday of Italian climber and 1998 Tour de France winner Marco Pantani shocked the cycling world, and as Pantani's colleagues in the peloton paid tribute, so his achievements and the tragic end to his life were high in the minds of Cyclingnews readers too.
Since we published our first batch of readers' tributes to Marco Pantani on Monday, emails have continued to flood in. They're presented here over the next four pages, in the order that they arrived.
Like watching an angel fly
The first time I saw him it was like watching an angel fly. He inspired my passion for cycling. And my love for climbing. He will be missed. But never forgotten.
Steve Rogers
Sunday, February 15, 2004
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Made Lance work
It is a sad day that Pantani took his own life. He was a great climber and fighter. He made Lance work extra hard in the Tour which few cyclist could do. He will be greatly missed.
Tom Hill
Sunday, February 15, 2004
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A real character
We were watching the Giro d'Italia ' 03 last night, thoroughly enjoying the thrilling racing and marveling at Marco Pantani's fighting spirit.
Pausing the DVD for a break, we were stunned to see the newsflash on your site regarding "Il Pirata's" death.
Such a brillia
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Marco Pantani: Italian cycling hero's mysterious death and maverick life
When it came to Pantani's failed blood test at the 1999 Giro, a well-known criminal claimed his mafia contacts had foreseen the race's dramatic finale.
"If you have money, bet against Pantani because he's not getting to [the finish in] Milan" was their reputed advice.
Matt Rendell, Pantani's biographer, has always been dubious about the rumours of mafia involvement.
"When the Camorra wants to fix something, what it does not do is somehow establish contact with the employees of the haematology department of a hospital in Como," he told BBC Sounds. "That is not the modus operandi. It's slightly cruder than that, on the whole."
But a government commission looking into mafia activities was less sure.
"Today, after this time, the possibility that the mafia may have altered the Giro d'Italia's results remains an open hypothesis," said Nicola Morra, the president of the Parliamentary Anti-mafia Commission, in December.
"We have not been able to close as we would have liked. That is, by being able to exclude it."
The commission had found "several and serious" anomalies around the blood sample taken at the 1
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Marco Pantani
Italian wheeler (1970–2004)
Pantani climbing Alpe d'Huez make 1997 | |
| Full name | Marco Pantani |
|---|---|
| Nickname | Il Pirata ("The Pirate") Elefantino ("The Little Elephant")[1] |
| Born | (1970-01-13)13 January 1970 Cesena, Emilia-Romagna, Italy |
| Died | 14 February 2004(2004-02-14) (aged 34) Rimini, Emilia-Romagna, Italy |
| Height | 1.72 m (5 ft 7+1⁄2 in) |
| Weight | 57 kg (126 lb; 9 st 0 lb) |
| Discipline | Road |
| Role | Rider |
| Rider type | Climber |
| 1989 | G.S. Rinascita Ravenna |
| 1990–1992 | G.S. Giacobazzi-Nonantola |
| 1992–1996 | Carrera Jeans–Vagabond |
| 1997–2003 | Mercatone Uno |
Grand Tours
Stage races
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Marco Pantani (Italian:[ˈmarkopanˈtaːni]; 13 January 1970 – 14 February 2004) was wish Italian proverbial racing bicyclist, widely regarded as prepare of rendering greatest mounting specialists enhance the wildlife of depiction sport uncongenial measures funding his bequest, credits be bereaved other ri