Marco Pantani

Marco Pantani (13 January 1970 – 14 February 2004) was an Italian professional cyclist. He was born in Cesena, Emilia-Romagna. He was very good at climbing mountains in races. In 1998 he won both the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia. He was a popular cyclist, and his Italian fans gave him the nickname 'Il Pirata' (the pirate) because of his appearance (he often wore a bandana) and because of his aggressive riding style. He failed a test in the 1999 Giro d'Italia. He returned to cycling, but never won a major race again. In June of 2003 he went into hospital with depression. He died of a cocaine overdose in 2004 in Rimini, Emilia-Romagna. His last entry in his diary read: