The Pirate! - how terrible :( . 34 is way way too young. I see where you're coming from, Johnny, actually I told my brother about it and he said 'what do you expect? He's a drug cheat', but I think most in the cycling world will just be saddened at the fall from grace and very untimely demise of a true great rather than anything else. It's one thing to be angry and betrayed whilst they're still alive, but another to not be moved by their death at 34.

I remember three or four years ago seeing Pantani and Armstrong riding together up that really awful white mountain. I think that would have been one of the last stages he won?

Well that's a quick change of opinion, Xen [img]smile.gif[/img]

It took him a full eight hours to change his oppinion. hehe
I'm also sad for his death, I too cheered forhim. About his disqualification, I think it wasn't drugs but blood he was taking.

A phenomenal climber. To see him accelerate up a mountain was awesome.

But when I look at any cyclist today I have to ask myself about the drugs.

The sad thing is that taking drugs at that time was never proven to him.

The life of the "lonely ranger" has passed in terrible lonelyes. :(

His friend Davide Cassani told that he talked to a month before this tragic event and that he was "murky". That he wasn`t "he" but someone else.

Last four years the years of suffering came. It all started in Madonna di Campiglion where he was disqualiftied. Becuase he had too many red blood cells in his blood he was like a black sheep suffering from EPO. But it looked like that he has passed those trouble years when he was 14th on Giro d`Italia. But unfortunately it wasn`t so. Soon after he suffered from deppresion illnes.
The last week of his life he spent in the hotel. So he was lonely most of his life and his died lonely. Away from everybody. He spared all behind. :(
Why? Nobody will probably ever know and Pantani took that answer to his grave.

May he rest in peace! :( :(


http://images.google.com/imgres?imgu...UTF-8%26sa%3DN


RIP! You will always be rememberd!

[ 02-16-2004, 04:35 PM: Message edited by: Xen ]