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)
Team information
Discipline
Road
Role
Rider
Rider type
Climber
Amateur teams
1989
G.S. Rinascita Ravenna
1990–1992
G.S. Giacobazzi-Nonantola
Professional teams
1992–1996
Carrera Jeans–Vagabond
1997–2003
Mercatone Uno
Major wins
Grand Tours
Tour de France
General classification (1998)
Young rider classification (1994, 1995)
8 individual stages (1995, 1997, 1998, 2000)
Giro d'Italia
General classification (1998)
Mountains classification (1998)
8 individual stages (1994, 1998, 1999)
Stage races
Vuelta a Murcia (1999)
Medal record
Representing Italy
Men's road bicycle racing
World Championships
1995 Duitama
Road race
Marco Pantani (Italian:[ˈmarkopanˈtaːni]; 13 January 1970 – 14 February 2004) was an Italian road racing cyclist, widely regarded as one of the greatest climbing specialists in the history of the sport by measures of his legacy, credits from other riders, and records. He recorded the fastest ever climbs up the Tour's iconic venues of Mont Ventoux (46:00)[2] and Alpe d'Huez (36:50),[3] and other cyclists including Lance Armstrong and Charly Gaul have hailed Pantani's climbing skills.[4][5] He is the last rider and one of only seven to ever win the Tour de France – Giro d'Italia double, doing so in 1998. He is the sixth of seven Italians, after Ottavio Bottecchia, Gino Bartali, Fausto Coppi, Gastone Nencini and Felice Gimondi, and before Vincenzo Nibali to win the Tour de France.
Pantani's cycling style was off-the-saddle, and was a relentless climbing style. His early death caused by acute cocaine poisoning in 2004 has further turned the cyclist into a popular icon. The narrative was cultivated by Pantani, who picked the nickname "Il Pirata" (English: "The Pirate") because of his shaven head and the bandana and earrings he wore.[6] At 1.72 metres (5.6 ft) and 57 kilograms (126 lb), he was said to have the classic build for a mountain climber.[7] His style has been contrasted with that of time-trialling experts such as the five-time Tour winner Miguel Induráin.[8]
Although Pantani never tested positive during his career, his career was beset by doping allegations. In the 1999 Giro d'Italia, he was expelled due to his irregular blood values. Although he was disqualified for "health reasons", it was implied that Pantani's high haematocrit was the product of EPO use. Following later accusations, Pantani went into a severe depression from which he never fully recovered, ultimately leading to his death in 2004.
^Vergne, Laurent (22 July 2015). "Cannibale, Chéri-pipi, Wookie, Andy torticolis… le Top 20 des surnoms mythiques du cyclisme" [Cannibal, Chéri-pipi, Wookie, Andy Torticollis... the Top 20 mythical nicknames of cycling]. Eurosport (in French). Retrieved 11 April 2016.
^"Alpe d'Huez – Alpes". ChronosWatts. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
^Pugliese, Mario (1 October 2016). "Vous êtes mon idole". inbici.net. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
^Armstrong, Lance (13 February 2014). "Armstrong: If I was the carpenter, Pantani was the artist". cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
^Jeff Jones & Tim Maloney (15 February 2004). "Pantani dead at 34". Cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 8 October 2010.
^John, John (12 December 2005). "Gaul and Pantani, an Angel and a Pirate". dailypeloton.com. Archived from the original on 1 August 2013. Retrieved 2 July 2011.
^Alasdair Fotheringham (16 February 2004). "Marco Pantani, Record-breaking cyclist dogged by doping stories". The Independent. UK. Archived from the original on 4 February 2011. Retrieved 8 October 2010.
MarcoPantani (Italian: [ˈmarko panˈtaːni]; 13 January 1970 – 14 February 2004) was an Italian road racing cyclist, widely regarded as one of the greatest...
The Memorial MarcoPantani is a professional road bicycle race held annually in Emilia-Romagna, Italy. The race has been organized since 2004 and serves...
1827 opera by Vincenzo Bellini MarcoPantani (1970–2004), Italian cyclist, nicknamed Il Pirata Il Pirata: MarcoPantani, a 2007 television film about the...
stage 15 MarcoPantani blew the Tour apart with a victory which began on the Galibier. Ullrich was without support when Pantani attacked. Pantani topped...
the first man at the top of the pass, called Cima Pantani ("Pantani Top"). A monument to MarcoPantani was erected in 2006 by the Italian Professional Riders...
Cesenatico. Spazio Pantani: it is a structure directly managed by the Pantani family to keep alive the memory of the cycling champion MarcoPantani. The municipal...
anti-clockwise route through France to finish in Paris on 2 August. MarcoPantani of Mercatone Uno–Bianchi won the overall general classification, with...
respectively were the Latvian Piotr Ugrumov and the Italian rider, MarcoPantani. Miguel Induráin first captured the lead after the stage 9 individual...
as well as the Most Combative Rider, in 3rd place on the podium was MarcoPantani, in 2nd was Virenque and in 1st overall winning the best young rider...
minutes 37 seconds. However, the absence of Jan Ullrich (injury) and MarcoPantani (drug allegations) meant Armstrong had not yet proven himself against...
before two wins in three days, at the Coppa Sabatini and the Memorial MarcoPantani – becoming the latter race's first non-Italian winner. At the start...
to using Erythropoietin. Jan Ullrich and MarcoPantani won in 1997 and 1998, respectively; however, Pantani's victory was overshadowed by doping scandals...
and not entering the 1999 Tour due to an injury; and 1998 Tour winner MarcoPantani. Richard Virenque finished 8th place in the 1999 Tour despite bad preparation...
Jalabert, while Richard Virenque won the mountains classification. MarcoPantani won the young rider classification, and ONCE won the team classification...
Giro d'Italia win as well as his 1949 and 1950 Tour of Flanders wins. MarcoPantani rode the 1997 Tour de France on a Wilier. More recently World Champion...
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