Marco Pantani dead

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by rossoreduk
HEY DOES ANYONE KNOW WHATS HAPPENED? HE'S BEEN FOUND DEAD???

he suffered from depression, european papers wrote some half year ago.
our pirate probably killed himself.

i hope you´ll like this exerpt of a g.b.shaw-play. called "the ghost of canterville:

`Poor, poor Ghost,' she murmured; `have you no
place where you can sleep?'
`Far away beyond the pinewoods,' he answered, in
a low dreamy voice, `there is a little garden. There
the grass grows long and deep, there are the great
white stars of the hemlock flower, there the
nightingale sings all night long. All night long he
sings, and the cold, crystal moon looks down, and
the yew-tree spreads out its giant arms over the
sleepers.'
Virginia's eyes grew dim with tears, and she hid her
face in her hands.
`You mean the Garden of Death,' she whispered.
`Yes, Death. Death must be so beautiful. To lie in
the soft brown earth, with the grasses waving above
one's head, and listen to silence. To have no
yesterday, and no to-morrow. To forget time, to
forgive life, to be at peace. You can help me. You
can open for me the portals of Death's house, for
Love is always with you,

The body of 34 year old Marco Pantani has been found dead in a room in Le Rose di Rimini apartments in the Italian Adriatic coastal city of Rimini this afternoon.

According to reports on La Gazzetta dello Sport, Pantani went to Le Rose apartments in viale Regina Elena along the sea front in Rimini a few days ago. The last time anyone saw him was Saturday afternoon. When no-one saw him come down for dinner at 9:30pm, the desk clerk of the hotel called the police. They knocked on the door of his room and found it locked from the inside. They finally gained access and found Pantani's partially clothed body on the floor next to his bed.

Cycling news article at: http://www.cyclingnews.com/news.php?id=news/2004/feb04/feb15news1

there is a theory circulating that his blood heamatocrit level was seriously high. He was actually takin asprin to thin his blood as it had life-threateningly thickened? is this true????? Apparently he was found alongside some pills? Asprin perhaps?

If he had really taken drugs as had been accused of, his blood haematocrit level should be lower than normal during the off-season.

Apparently all these kinds of accusations are [censored].

until the autopsy is finished there should be no speculation...

il pirata was an amazing champion and a larger than life character...

RIP

Regardless of what the final cause of death was, the hounding he received has to be a factor.

There simply must be a better way to get drugs out of cycling. Winning is tough enough, without having a police state and media fueled witch hunts to deal with as well.

A man who , for reasons of expiediency , was crucified to save the Italian Olympic Com. and Italian football : some years ago there was a scandle in Italy of drug taking in football and the way the sports autorities ignored it . They need a scape goat and cycling was it : Pantani became a victim in the doping witchhunt that the " suits " used as a smoke screen for there previous inactivity .
and may the Gods have mercy on us all for allowing it to happen .

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by el Inglés
A man who , for reasons of expiediency , was crucified to save the Italian Olympic Com. and Italian football : some years ago there was a scandle in Italy of drug taking in football and the way the sports autorities ignored it . They need a scape goat and cycling was it : Pantani became a victim in the doping witchhunt that the " suits " used as a smoke screen for there previous inactivity .
and may the Gods have mercy on us all for allowing it to happen .

Got to agree with you my friend.
Marco was abandoned by this sport of ours and the way in which he was treated was abhorrent.

The UCI, TDF and the Italian authorities have blood on their hands over this.
The corrupt, pungent UCI's double dealing is the route of all that is wrong with our sport.
Certain drug takers are tolerated - they're allowed to parade themselves, even after they've been found guilty of drug taking, in our sport.
These cheats - and that's what they are, cheating ****ers, are
given the nod and wink of approval by the UCI.
Why ?
Because it's expedient - that's why.
Was their parity of treatment in the way Virenque was treated as
compared to Pantani ?
Why does the UCI/TDF allow a drug cheat like Virenque
participate in the sport, when the likes of Marco was stopped from cycling ?
Because it was expedient.
VerBruggen and the rest of them are a disgrace.

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by jonny_velo
until the autopsy is finished there should be no speculation...

il pirata was an amazing champion and a larger than life character...


RIP

I agree with you entirely. Leave the trash talk to the gossip mags where they trash people who do nothing to earn celebrity status other than their looks or family name. People who earn celebrity by hard work deserve respect.

Cycling has lost a great personality and rider.

Got this from www.supercycling.co.za

Quoted post said:

Pantani died from brain swelling

An autopsy showed on Monday that cyclist Marco Pantani died from severe swelling in his brain and heart, although the reason for these catastrophic symptoms was still unclear, a doctor involved in the research said.
Dr. Giuseppe Fortuni said further tests were necessary and that the investigation into the death of the 1998 Tour de France and Giro d'Italia winner would continue. Results from further tests should come within two weeks, he said.

Tormented by doping accusations in recent seasons, Pantani was found dead in a hotel room in this seaside resort on Saturday.

The Italian sporting hero had suffered from depression in the past, but prosecutors have played down the possibility of suicide - a widespread speculation in the Italian media. Authorities here say they will not be drawn out on the cause until investigations are completed.

Pantani's heart and breathing stopped after "cerebral edema and pulmonary edema," Fortuni said after the three-hour autopsy.

"We can absolutely exclude violent trauma," Fortuni told a throng of reporters. "We will investigate in every direction." Pantani, 34, was found dead on the floor of his room at the "Le Rose" apartment-hotel in the Adriatic city of Rimini. About 10 bottles of tranquilizers of four different brands were found in the room, some of them empty, others just open, police said.

The sudden death of Pantani, Italy's most popular cyclist, shocked the nation.

Pantani was the last man to win both the Tour de France and the Giro -cycling's most important races - in the same season.

Short and slight, he scaled huge mountains faster than anyone.

To the entire country, he was simply "the Pirate," a nickname he earned for his hoop earring and the bandanna that covered his bald head.

Italian newspapers reported Monday that Pantani lamented in notes found near his body that he had been left alone and that nobody could understand him.

The prosecutor investigating the cause of Pantani's death said none of the cyclist's words resembled a suicide note, according to Corriere della Sera.

"There is not one single line that makes one think of goodbye message," Prosecutor Paolo Gengarelli told the paper.

Paola Dente, a Rimini police official handling the case, said the letters had not been made public. "The contents are a private matter," Dente said.

Several top Italian sports officials Monday said changes needed to be made in the way top athletes are dealt with.

Gianni Petrucci, president of the Italian Olympic Committee, which oversees all doping tests in Italy, said in an interview with RAI state radio that athletes accused of taking banned substances should be dealt with more sensitively.

"We all have to believe that we could have done something for Pantani," he said.

Italian sports minister and IOC member Mario Pescante said Pantani was "a victim of modern sports." "He was investigated by at least seven state prosecutors. To me, that seems - frankly - too many," Pescante was quoted as saying by the news agency ANSA. "The penal responsibility of athletes is absurd. Sports sanctions would be enough."

Pantani spent the last days of his life mostly isolated from his friends and family. He was found after hotel employees, growing concerned that they hadn't seen him all day, opened his room.

Funeral services were planned for Wednesday in Pantani's hometown of Cesenatico, just north of Rimini.