Marco Pantani (former Tour and Giro winner) dies at age 34

[freegeeks]

BBC link

another sad day for cycling

 

[Muadib]

Wow, it sounds like it could be suicide.

 

[Fausto]

Obituary

By Tim Maloney, European editor Cyclingnews.com

Considered perhaps the greatest climber of his generation, Italian professional cyclist Marco Pantani was born in Cesena, Italy on January 13, 1970. As an amateur, he brilliantly won the 1992 Baby Giro d'Italia by his climbing prowess. Pantani had 36 pro wins, among which were his first, at the 1994 Giro d'Italia in Merano and his last pro win at the Tour De France in 2000 at Courchevel. Pantani was third in the 1995 World Road Championships in Duitama (Colombia).

Soon after his great ride in Colombia in 1995, Pantani crashed hard in Milano-Torino on the descent of Pino Torinese and suffered a serious compound fracture of his left leg. After a long and difficult rehabilitation, Pantani started the 1997 Giro d'Italia but crashed out again on the stage to Chiunzi and abandoned the race.

In 1998, Pantani came back to magnificently win the Giro-Tour double, the first time an Italian had realized the "bis" since Fausto Coppi did so (for the second time) in 1952. The miniscule climber inspired legions of Italian tifosi in the late 1990's with his dynamic, attacking style, who named the beloved Pantani "Il Pirata" (The Pirate), for his radical look with a personalized bandana, shaved head and earring. In total, Pantani won eight stages of the Giro and eight stages of the Tour. He wore the Maillot Jaune 6 times and the Maglia Rosa 14 times in his career.

Wearing the maglia rosa and two days away from winning the 1999 Giro d'Italia, Pantani was kicked out of the race for high haematocrit, thus beginning his downward spiral that tragically concluded today in Rimini. Pantani faced alleged sporting fraud charges in his career, but the climber from Cesenatico was never found guilty of any real charges. In 2000, Pantani did receive a three-month suspended prison sentence for high hematocrit levels, but his conviction was then overturned on appeal. In 2002, Pantani served a six month UCI ban after a syringe containing traces of insulin was found in his hotel room in the San Remo "blitz" during the 2000 Giro.

Coming back from his suspension, Pantani had poor results in 2002, but once again in 2003, Pantani made another comeback in the Giro d'Italia. He had some respectable performances, eventually finishing 14th but was then crushed by his non-selection for the Centenary Tour De France and plunged into the abyss of deep depression. In late June, Pantani checked into a psychiatric clinic near Padova to treat his depression.

Once out of the clinic late last year, Pantani told his local Rimini newspaper that "You can forget about Pantani the athlete. I still ride my bike, just to turn my legs," he said, "But cycling is the last thing on my mind. I haven't been to the gym for months. I've gained 15 kilos and I have the physique of a little bull."

Pantani was found dead in Rimini on February 14, 2004. He is survived by his parents.

 

[Fausto]

Coroner is initially saying heart attack, but this won't be confirmed until after the autopsy.

This sucks; first Jimenez and now Il Pirata.....two of my favorite cyclist to watch.

 

[GalvanizedYankee]

Originally posted by: Fausto
Coroner is initially saying heart attack, but this won't be confirmed until after the autopsy.

This sucks; first Jimenez and now Il Pirata[/l].....two of my favorite cyclist to watch.

Yes it is sad.
I don't follow cycling at all but I did read how Pantani acted the part of the arrogant Latin ass when Lance
let him win that one stage. He just seemed to be trying too hard

 

[Fausto]

He felt that "allowing" him the stage win was condescending to a former Tour winner....I have to agree.

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

Wow - that really is a shame. I was always a little ambivalent toward il Pirata, but this is a real tragedy.

 

[FreshCrabLegs]

Thanks for the link FreeGeeks.

I usually check cyclingnews.com at least once a day, but missed the "Cycling Flash" earlier today.

Yes, Pantani's aggresion on the cols were/will be missed. I hope he finally finds the peace he was searching for; for the past 6 years.

<-- Awaits Ullrich's and Armstrong's official press release.

 

[Fausto]

Autopsy results are in; "cardiac arrest caused by a cerebral and pulmonary edema, and any type of traumatic event is excluded."

Gonna be a while on the bloodwork

Linky.

 

[freegeeks]

Originally posted by: Fausto
Autopsy results are in; "cardiac arrest caused by a cerebral and pulmonary edema, and any type of traumatic event is excluded."

Gonna be a while on the bloodwork

Linky.

he really looks bad on that pic

 

[Fausto]

Originally posted by: freegeeks

Originally posted by: Fausto
Autopsy results are in; "cardiac arrest caused by a cerebral and pulmonary edema, and any type of traumatic event is excluded."

Gonna be a while on the bloodwork

Linky.

he really looks bad on that pic

Eh...it's pretty typical for ex-pros to gain a bunch of weight after years at 6% body fat. Eddy Merckx is looking pretty well-fed these days.

 

[freegeeks]

Originally posted by: Fausto

Originally posted by: freegeeks

Originally posted by: Fausto
Autopsy results are in; "cardiac arrest caused by a cerebral and pulmonary edema, and any type of traumatic event is excluded."

Gonna be a while on the bloodwork

Linky.

he really looks bad on that pic

Eh...it's pretty typical for ex-pros to gain a bunch of weight after years at 6% body fat. Eddy Merckx is looking pretty well-fed these days.

I was not commenting on his weight but the fact that he looks really depressed

Eddy seems to have an unhealthy appetite for fries (He's The Cannibal for something) - he's getting bigger by the year

btw: I heard in the news that Pantani had developed a nasty cocaine addiction and that was possibly one of the reasons for his heart attack (just a rumour - waiting for confirmation)

 

[Fausto]

Originally posted by: freegeeks

Originally posted by: Fausto

Originally posted by: freegeeks

Originally posted by: Fausto
Autopsy results are in; "cardiac arrest caused by a cerebral and pulmonary edema, and any type of traumatic event is excluded."

Gonna be a while on the bloodwork

Linky.

he really looks bad on that pic

Eh...it's pretty typical for ex-pros to gain a bunch of weight after years at 6% body fat. Eddy Merckx is looking pretty well-fed these days.

I was not commenting on his weight but the fact that he looks really depressed

Eddy seems to have an unhealthy appetite for fries (He's The Cannibal for something) - he's getting bigger by the year

hehe...he was known for eating a lot when he was racing and now doesn't have the riding to keep his weight in check.

btw: I heard in the news that Pantani had developed a nasty cocaine addiction and that was possibly one of the reasons for his heart attack (just a rumour - waiting for confirmation)

Eh....I've heard lots of stuff. There's a rumor floating around that the EPO "fried" his bone marrow (this is apparently a rare reaction in some EPO users). I personally think that having a 60% hematocrit at some points in his career created a clot that just took a few years to break loose and kill him.

 

[BigSmooth]

Coroner says it was a cocaine overdose.
http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/news/story?id=1763255

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

That's weird and sad (though I guess his death would be weird and sad regardless of the cause). The doping scandals in the late '90s revealed that some team docs were giving riders the "Belgian Pot" (a mixture of cocaine, amphetamines, heroin, and steroids, if you can believe it) as a performance enhancer, but in general I have never heard of a pro cyclist having problems with cocaine.