The Italian press has brought up some news about Marco Pantani who died of an overdose in 2004.
He won the 20th stage of the 1999 Giro d’Italia and he was disqualified the following day. He had an abnormally high hematocrit test of 51.9%, while the maximum allowed by the UCI was set at 50% at the time.
The Gazzetta dello Sport reports a key witness who was known to the Neapolitan mafia as Camorra. He’s reported to have said the mafia threatened the doctor who performed the analysis. They wanted him to falsify the results of his blood test. They wanted him out of the race and to pocket the jackpot. The Camorra had bet huge sums on competitors of Marco Pantani.
La Gazzetta dello Sport claims that the prosecutor’s investigation report of Forli, in charge of this case has the answers. The latter interviewed dozens of witnesses who would confirm the involvement of the mafia in the decommissioning of the Italian climber.
His mother has been trying to clear his name for years, saying there was a conspiracy. It could be that this scenario caused him to get into cocaine, which ultimately took his life.
The report has been archived but since it’s now more than 15 years. The Pantani mystery continues…
