Pantani, Madonna di Campiglio, and the Mafia

rick_chasey
rick_chasey Posts: 72,612
edited October 2014 in Pro race
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?
_

Comments

  • Paul 8v
    Paul 8v Posts: 5,458
    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
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  • Mad_Malx
    Mad_Malx Posts: 5,002
    So Marco was clean and it was all a fit up - how many of us would love this to be true?
  • knedlicky
    knedlicky Posts: 3,097
    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.
    RichN95. Posts: 27,150
    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.
    Twitter: @RichN95
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 72,612
    http://www.gazzetta.it/Ciclismo/16-10-2 ... 6877.shtml

    Looks like Italian magistrates are getting involved.
    _
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 72,612
    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
    specialgueststar Posts: 3,418
    Matt Rendell was saying something about this not long ago - but can't remember what! He is the authority
  • above_the_cows
    above_the_cows Posts: 11,406
    I'll just call my mate Salvo Montalbano...
    Correlation is not causation.
  • gethinceri
    gethinceri Posts: 1,517
    Above The Cows wrote:
    I'll just call my mate Salvo Montalbano...
    Epic telly.
  • Crampeur
    Crampeur Posts: 1,065
    Above The Cows wrote:
    I'll just call my mate Salvo Montalbano...

    Anyone else think that Fazio looks just like David Millar?
  • mechanism
    mechanism Posts: 891
    I can easily believe that the UCI and other authorities chose to find dopers positive or not.
  • takethehighroad
    takethehighroad Posts: 6,641
    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
    ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,243
    I have followed the story on Gazzetta dello Sport, but to be honest it seems a lot of bollox
    left the forum March 2023
  • Yellow Peril
    Yellow Peril Posts: 4,466
    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.
    @JaunePeril

    Winner of the Bike Radar Pro Race Wiggins Hour Prediction Competition
  • Le Commentateur
    Le Commentateur Posts: 4,099
    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.
    Un uomo solo al commando

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