Word: pantani
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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DIED. MARCO PANTANI, 34, flamboyant Italian cycling champion beset by allegations of performance-enhancing substance use; of an apparent drug overdose; in Rimini, Italy. Nicknamed Elefantino, or Dumbo, for his big ears, he won both the Tour de France and Giro d'Italia, a rare feat...
...DIED. MARCO PANTANI, 34, flamboyant winner of the 1998 Tour de France, whose racing career collapsed the following year when he failed to pass a test for performance-enhancing drugs; of an apparent drug overdose; in Rimini, Italy. The Italian, who last year checked himself into a clinic in Teolo that specializes in treating depression and drug addiction, wasn't popular with many of his fellow racers but was beloved by fans. Though he liked to refer to himself as il Pirata (the Pirate)?he wore a single gold earring and had a shaved head?fans affectionately called him Dumbo...
...easy can be applied to a grueling three-week event that took riders over 3,270 km of rolling valleys and vertiginous mountain peaks. With one-time winner and three-time runner-up Jan Ullrich of Germany sidelined with a knee injury and legendary Italian climber Marco Pantani under drug suspension, Armstrong had only one real challenger - Spanish climber Joseba Beloki of once, who finished 7:17 behind...
...race and the one in which rider Tom Simpson died in 1967, from exhaustion. So while mountain-climbing specialist Richard Virenque, who just last week was bragging to reporters about his unparalleled fan base, was sucking from an oxygen tank, Armstrong, his teammates far behind, rode with Pantani toward a victory in the moonlike, vegetationless mountain-top. And Armstrong lost the day, as at every other stage thus far, this time to Pantani...
...even his miraculous Monday ride to Spaniard Javier Otxoa, who had started his sprint hours before Armstrong made his breakaway. Armstrong nearly applied his brakes to allow the wobbling Spaniard to cross the victory line within sight of cheering countrymen who had come to see the race. Even the Pantani win up Ventoux was a gift, with Armstrong slowing down to let the troubled ex-champion catch up. "He's come to win the war, not kill everyone in every single battle," says Armstrong's coach, Chris Carmichael. Armstrong, now clearly the strongest rider in the world, is being careful...