19 years ago Marco Pantani died: ‘The bicycle was his life’

The magical Pirate in 1998 with the Giro d’Italia-Tour de France one-two punch

Exactly 19 years ago, in a hotel room in Rimini, Pantani died. The memory of the Pirate is still very strong. Considered one of the greatest cyclists ever, he raced from 1992 to 2003. The magical year was 1998 when he won both the Giro d’Italia and the Tour de France.

The Pirate was beloved by the people. His mother, on the anniversary of his death, explains why: “Because of his passion, cycling was his life. He would tell me ‘I do it for my fans, they come from far away and sleep on the ground in a tent to see me.’ That’s all he cared about: riding a bicycle and making those who watched him happy. He always told me, ‘I mom want to stop racing when I decide it, not when others decide it,’ and instead unfortunately others decided it,” his words to Corriere dello Sport.

Pantani’s mother also revealed what his dream was, which was to go around the world by bicycle. He had even had a mountain bike prepared to make his wish come true.