The Death of Marco Pantani
By Bob Roll
3/17/04

With the death of Marco Pantani, cycling recently lost one
of our most dynamic, enigmatic, and intriguing
personalities. Pantani was completely unlike any other of
cycling’s great champions, and was perhaps the most unlikely
man ever to win the Tour de France.

He was an angel of the mountains who was tortured by demons.
He was the proverbial ugly duckling who blossomed into the
eagle of the climbs. Incredibly, Marco won his Tour after
finishing the prologue in 178th place. He had to pass 177
riders to win the Tour that year.

Marco was also the most unpredictable cyclist to win a Grand
Tour. Of course, he could attack at will on the climbs. But,
it was also that Marco would attack at any time out on the
roads of the Tour and Giro -- making his rivals nervous
through the three weeks of the Grand Tours. His triumphs and
courage gave hope to the under dog, the little guy, and the
disenfranchised. And now, that light has been snuffed out.

Such a sad and precipitous decline marked his final days,
that his was a premature death foretold by those around him.
Lurid tales of creeping dementia surround Marco, but let us
remember his eccentricities with compassion and realize the
true burden of the tragedy will be carried by his parents
and sister who’ve lost their only son and brother.

As bike racers, we spend 50 percent of our lives alone in
hotel rooms. For Marco to pass away alone in a hotel room
brings extra poignancy to a very sad end. The culpability
for Marco’s death lies with he and he alone. Pantani
withdrew into a self-imposed isolation from his friends and
family from which he never emerged.

For sure, Pantani’s demise will include allegations, rumors,
innuendo, half-truths, and absolute lies about the causes of
his death. But who cares? When Marco raced, it was a mystery
as to when he would attack, and the mysteries surrounding
his death will haunt us for a very long time.