Pantani, Madonna di Campiglio, and the Mafia

rick_chasey

So I've heard from a few places that Gazetta has a long piece suggesting that, amongst other things, Pantani's positive in the '99 Giro on Madonna di Campiglio was fixed by the local Mafia who were trying to fix the result for some bets they'd made.



Anyone got any sources I/we can read, or shed any more light on it?

Paul 8v

I've not seen that but there was an article a few days ago shedding some more light on the supposed botched investigation of his death and possible murder

Mad_Malx

So Marco was clean and it was all a fit up - how many of us would love this to be true?

knedlicky

Rick Chasey wrote:

So I've heard from a few places that Gazetta has a long piece suggesting that, amongst other things, Pantani's positive in the '99 Giro on Madonna di Campiglio was fixed by the local Mafia who were trying to fix the result for some bets they'd made.
Anyone got any sources I/we can read, or shed any more light on it?

Not from the Gazetta, but what I read was, so many small bookmakers felt they would lose a lot of money if Pantani won the Giro, that one bookmaker approached a Mafia chief asking him to bet against Pantani … and when the chief did so, then the race took its required course.
Said like that, the Mafia didn't initially intend to control anything, rather they decided to support the small businesses in their time of need - a bit like a Margaret Thatcher policy.

Apparently similar happened when Napoli FC with Maradona looked likely to win everything going in the football world.

RichN95.

Pantani is Italy's Princess Diana. People don't want to believe the obvious mundane official reason for their demise, so they concoct some conspiracy instead.

rick_chasey

http://www.gazzetta.it/Ciclismo/16-10-2 ... 6877.shtml

Looks like Italian magistrates are getting involved.

rick_chasey

Mad_Malx wrote:

So Marco was clean and it was all a fit up - how many of us would love this to be true?

Don't think anyone is disputing he was on the juice

More they're disputing he didn't pass the test.

specialgueststar

Matt Rendell was saying something about this not long ago - but can't remember what! He is the authority

above_the_cows

I'll just call my mate Salvo Montalbano...

gethinceri

Above The Cows wrote:

I'll just call my mate Salvo Montalbano...

Epic telly.

Crampeur

Above The Cows wrote:

I'll just call my mate Salvo Montalbano...

Anyone else think that Fazio looks just like David Millar?

Mechanism

I can easily believe that the UCI and other authorities chose to find dopers positive or not.

takethehighroad

I remember hearing on a podcast somewhere (may have been the Moore/Friebe/Bernie one) about this.

People certainly made a lot of money off him being kicked out, that's for sure

ugo.santalucia

I have followed the story on Gazzetta dello Sport, but to be honest it seems a lot of bollox

Yellow Peril

ugo.santalucia wrote:

I have followed the story on Gazzetta dello Sport, but to be honest it seems a lot of bollox

Agreed. I think in some quarters there is a need to put a "romantic" spin on Pantani's demise as in to show him as a clean(er) rider and lay the fault of his death at someone else's door. It all adds to the legend and sells yet more books, films T-shirts and bandanas.

I heard Prince Harry was his love child and the Royal Family had him silenced.

As for me I just loved the way he climbed and accelerated on the drops. He also looked cool in that Mercatone kit.

Le Commentateur

The real conspiracy was about the rocket fuel and its web of suppliers, but Tonina Pantani and most of Italy prefer to seek villains that enable her son to be seen as honest.

Actually Pantani should have been thrown off the 1998 Giro, but instead his test sample – taken when the entire Mercatone Uno team was randomly tested ahead of the final time trial – was switched with that of domestique Riccardo Forconi, who then took the rap and was sent home.