Marco Pantani divides. So brilliant, so fragile and in the end so tragic, dying young and alone in a Rimini hotel room. Setting all that aside at his peak, like he was in this photo, he was a glory. So much of a glory it’s easy to forget the struggle of his life. A struggle that started on a mountain descent in 1995.
There was 7 kilometres of Milan-Turin to go and Pantani was leading a group down the Superga climb. The road should have remained closed until the last vehicle in the race passed through, but somehow a vehicle not involved with the race got on the route and headed towards the riders.
Coming round a bend at 80 kilometres per hour Pantani, Davide Dall’Olio and Francesco Secchiari hit the vehicle, and Pantani took the brunt of the impact. Dall’Olio broke his hip, Secchiari his leg, but Pantani’s left fibia and tibia were shattered. It was terrible, he was lying on the road with bone protruding from his leg. It looked like a nightmare, but the nightmare was only just beginning.
During his long hospitalisation Pantani’s leg was kept under constant traction to stimulate bone growth, an excruciating treatment necessary because his bones were not just broken, at the fracture there was almost no bone left. This was followed by 16 months of rehabilitation.
He did extensive physio and had to take great care not to build imbalances in his body that could cause problems later. It took patience and huge courage, but he finally made a comeback at the Trofeo Laigueglia in February 1997.
He was secretly terrified he’d lost his ability to climb, but it was still there. The only thing that had changed was his look. The schoolboy Pantani he was during his first conquests of mountains had gone, now he was Il Pirata and his swashbuckling riding style only added to the legend.
Pantani’s popularity soared, then he won the Giro d’Italia and the Tour de France in 1998. He was at his peak, idolised in Italy but demons were soon snapping at his heels. His life became a big dipper ride of highs and lows, ending far too soon in that lonely room in 2004. He was 34.
