"Marco Pantani: Death of a Pirate". BBC podcast

Will listen later thanks 👍

Thank you for that, I caught a bit of info when I was in the workshop but had forgotten, I’ll listen later astride my Bianchi with period clobber on!

Thanks for the link and all but is it any good?

Putting to one side all of the drug related stuff, this video of Pantani back in 1999 (and recognising that it was common practice) illustrates why so many people find him so exciting.

Having punctured on Oropa his ride to the finish is really something else (for me anyway).

My first formative years watching road cycling with my dad was when Pantani was at his peak.

I think even to this day I suffer confused personality syndrome on the bike, in my head I'm an enigmatic, diminutive Italian climber with cool facial fair, when in reality I'm a pale Scottish clydesdale with more leg hair than facial hair 😭😭

Thanks for the link and all but is it any good?

Err, I'm currently holding a piece of string - can you tell me how long it is?

I'm half-way through Ep2. I am enjoying it because I only started getting interested in road cycling last year and am still to be convinced to some extent. But I have read Pantani's biography, Tommy Simpson's biography, David Millar's biography and Bad Blood.

So there is just the right mix of familiar stories with stuff I didn’t know.

A full-on road cycling wonk will probably find it patronising. A beginner would get more out of it.

Pantani was an amazing descender.

I think even to this day I suffer confused personality syndrome on the bike, in my head I’m an enigmatic, diminutive Italian climber with cool facial fair, when in reality I’m a pale Scottish clydesdale with more leg hair than facial hair 😭😭

When I ride my road bike (a Bianchi) I wear a bandana.  You are not alone.

I remember doing a cycling tour of Scotland in 1998 and watching the tour highlights every night in the youth hostels.  It definitely had a lasting effect.

Thanks for the video link. A tremendous piece of action footage.

I think even to this day I suffer confused personality syndrome on the bike, in my head I’m an enigmatic, diminutive Italian climber with cool facial fair, when in reality I’m a pale Scottish clydesdale with more leg hair than facial hair 😭😭
When I ride my road bike (a Bianchi) I wear a bandana.  You are not alone.

I sold a pile of old bike stuff on ebay a couple of years ago. A Klein, Pace forks, USE stuff, XTR bits. I made a few hundred quid and most parts sold at a disappointing price. The only thing that sold well above what I expected was a Pantani bandana which made about £50. I can't imagine  that I paid much for it in the 90s.

There's a huge market for Pantani related stuff. A friend had, maybe still has, a Mercatone Uno replica Bianchi which had a Pantani embroidered saddle - the saddles alone seem to go for a few hundred pounds.

I was on Ventoux the day he beat Armstrong in 98. It's a cliche but I still remember where I was when I found out he'd died.

Did he die on valentine's Day 2004? I was in work, 2 weeks in to my current job if it was that day?

I've read the death of Marco Pantani book, many years ago.

Err, I’m currently holding a piece of string – can you tell me how long it is?

You can, in fact, measure a particular piece of string. The difficulty is with assigning a particular length to an abstract piece of string.