With his new aerodynamic profile, how can he lose?????
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Cycing-Pantani fixes ears in new look for a new start
By Stephen Farrand
ASTI, Italy, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Former Tour de France winner Marco Pantani has undergone cosmetic
surgery to pin back the large earlobes that earned him the nickname "Dumbo" as he aims to make a
comeback this year with his new team.
Pantani, who is currently suspended, unveiled his new look while still wearing bandages on his
right ear at the official presentation of his new Mercatone Uno-Scanavino team in Asti, near Milan,
on Saturday.
The 32-year-old Italian said he had overcome the psychological problems afflicting him since being
disqualified from the 1999 Giro d'Italia when a blood test revealed he had a high haematocrit level
and was confident about the year ahead.
"After two years in the dark, I'm ready to make a comeback," he told reporters.
"I almost quit but there was something inside me which wouldn't let me and which pushes me to carry
on. I've realised you have to be positive in life. If you see everything in a negative aspect,
there's something wrong.
"I've rediscovered the psychological determination I need to race and now think positively. In the
past few years I was never angry about what was happening to me but now I am and want to get rid of
my anger on my bike."
Pantani is suspended until May 19 after Italian police found a used insulin syringe in the room
Pantani allegedly slept in during the 2001 Giro d'Italia.
He has appealed against the ban and will know next week if the ban is to be reduced. If that happens
Pantani said he would start racing again at the Clasica de Almeria in Spain on March 2.
Pantani described his ear operation as "a minor act of physical violence which symbolises having the
serenity to look at myself in the mirror and being ready to make changes in his life."
His ears had inspired American rival and four-times Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong to call
him Dumbo after the Walt Disney cartoon elephant.
Updated at Sat, Feb 15 2003, 11:18am ET
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