Marco Pantani, known as the “Pirate”, born in Cesenatico on the seashore, with a face marked prematurely by fatigue, standard-bearer of a very tiring and legendary sport as perhaps no one else has ever been, he was unrivaled when climbing mountains.
That year, 1998 expanded by the legend written on the hairpin bends, Pantani lost thirty-nine seconds in seven kilometers, an enormous amount for those who chew on cycling, but not for him who knew how to suffer like few others. At the fourteenth stage, arriving uphill in Piancavallo, Marco attacked a mountain worthy of his exploits, and returned to win after 1.445 days from a serious accident with his left leg shorter by seven millimeters, already because Marco's career pantani she was marked by terrible injuries. The next day in Trieste in a time trial stage, Pantani suffered a very hard defeat, but he looked ahead, lowered his head and swallowed the fatigue, keeping everything inside ready to explode at the right moment. When the Pirate's legs seemed to give way, something inside him went beyond his human possibilities and won, dragging raving audiences as he passed.
Marco Pantani comeback
There were only three mountain stages and Marco Pantani, or rather the Pirate was 3'48 ”from the pink jersey which appeared as a very distant dot. That Tuesday 2 June was the Dolomite stage and Zülle the opponent to beat had a flat tire.
Destiny pushed him, and it was precisely there that Pantani attacked again, while Zülle, now without his followers, struggled to lose 4'37 ”. Suddenly the shot of the Pirate, who throwing the bandana in what was his battle signal, sounded the charge, and it was clear that there was none for anyone. Everything happened in that moment in which the opponents seemed to disappear in front of a man apparently small and frail, but able to suddenly unleash an irrepressible force that has entered the myth. Up Pordoi and Sella, everyone tried to defend themselves, but Pantani became the pink jersey with a dedication to grandfather Sotero who died a few years earlier, his number one fan.
Victory
Paved Zülle, the man to beat was Tonkov, skilled in time trial and uphill, in fact, the next day, in a stage with an 18% gradient, he detached the Pirate making him chew bitter. Only Montecampione remained for the comeback with 17 km and twenty-eight hairpin bends: the impossible feat was needed. Tonkov followed the Pirate like a shadow and each bend was a snap and a war of nerves. The Russian did not let go, but just 3 km from the finish, in full competitive trance, with his legs firmly on the bike and his mind in a muffled dimension, the Pirate tore off the diamond he had on his nose, sure of being inspired by grandfather Sotero who from beyond would have whispered to him: “Go Marco”!
Pantani leapt like a fury with an energy that he no longer had, driven by desperation; for nothing in the world he would have given up. At 2,8 km from the finish, the Pirate, seeing Tonkov disappear behind him, took off becoming the pink jersey. He was able to gain a margin that could compensate for his weakness in the time trials. In Milan Pantani closed with 1'33 ”under the flood of Parco Sempione, and the pink of the jersey seemed even more dazzling in the flood, setting all the fans on fire with enthusiasm. That year at the Line of Business of Italy, Pantani also won the climbers ranking, because inside he was hungry to death, an irrepressible hunger for victory, to the point that he could bring out that little bit more that only great champions can give, that charisma that makes fans fall in love .
That superhuman competitive effort still remains unexplained today. Marco Pantani was a taciturn, shy and reserved man, a cyclist made of absolute silence, many serious injuries and poetic victories. Now and there in the clouds, bend after bend, pushed by the force of the wind inside, rarefied in the fog.
