Italian prosecutors have opened a murder inquiry into the death ten years ago of the controversial cycling champion Marco Pantani, following the presentation of new evidence by a lawyer acting for his family.
Known as “the Pirate” for his beard, bandanas and earrings, Pantani was the last rider to win the Tour de France and Giro d’Italia in the same year, 1998, and was enormously popular in the Italian cycling community.
He was kicked out of the Giro the following year after the discovery of suspiciously high levels of haematocrit in his blood, suggesting that he had been using the banned blood booster EPO, and he subsequently suffered from depression and drug addiction.
Pantani was found dead of cocaine poisoning in a Rimini hotel room