Product Description

At 9:30 pm on 14 February 2004, former Tour de France winner Marco Pantani was found dead in Rimini. It emerged that he had been addicted to cocaine since Autumn 1999, weeks after being expelled from the Tour of Italy for blood doping. Conspiracy theories abounded - that he was injected in his sleep by a business rival, that the Olympic Committee had framed him, that Italian Industrialists had engineered his downfall, etc etc. If none of these is entirely true and none of them fully explains Pantani's personal tragedy, none of them is foundationless. This book debunks the myths and makes surprising revelations. About Pantani's personal tragedy, but also about the world of cycling. Matt Rendell had access not only to court transcripts but to many of Pantani's friends and the doctors who treated him. But Pantani's life is about much more than drug addiction. Lance Armstrong described him as 'more of an artist than an athlete - an extravagant figure ...' Despite being plagued with injuries he won both the Giro and the Tour in 1998, something very few cyclists even attempt. He was an inspirational icon, and the remarkable wins against all odds make gripping reading.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #26993 in Books
• Published on: 2007-06-06
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 324 pages

Matthew Syed, Times
"[Rendell's] not inconsiderable acheivement is to convey the sordid reality of the Tour while simultaneously adding to one's yearning for its lost idealism"

Review
"[Rendell's] not inconsiderable acheivement is to convey the sordid reality of the Tour while simultaneously adding to one's yearning for its lost idealism" (Matthew Syed Times )

Chris Maume, INDEPENDENT (4.7.06)
'[a] sad, exhaustively detailed and beautiful book...This book, unflinching though it is, serves as a fitting, ambivalent tribute - to the man, and to the dark heart of the sport he loved.'

Customer Reviews

Riveting, disturbing, and quite sad
After a slow start this book becomes "can't put it down" material. Rendell's research is exceptionally detailed and you really get to understand how doping benefits cyclists. Delving into Pantani's personal life is where the book excels, rivets, and upsets though. Reading about his decline and cocaine problems was extremely moving, and even after putting the book down for an evening my mind would still be going over the content. Well worth reading, whether you're a cycling fan or not. The fine line between genius and madness is well revealed here, showing how the gifted Pantani slipped onto the wrong side of the line.

A compelling lifting of the lid on professional cycling
I found this book moving, stunning, exciting and ultimately tragic.
I love professional cycling but in the English speaking media we rarely get much detail beyond the headlines. This book gives you the excitement that makes the sport so fantastic but shows how clear it was Pantani and most of the rest of the Italian peleton doped there way to dominance. We thought they had, but Matt brings the threads together in a well written account.

Even for non cyclists Pantani's rise and fall into addiction is a compelling and salutory tale.

Recommended.

Cheers Matt.

Very good, even for outsiders
I am no cyclist, but found the book extremely interesting. I came to the subject with an open mind, but was convinced by the author's arguments - we are talking about doping in the milieu of cycling.

The book takes us from Marco Pantani's youth right up to his death, and beyond.

Unlike one of the previous critics, I do not consider the volume to be a hatchet job. All allegations are examined in detail, and medical concepts are explained very clearly - I know more about blood chemistry than I'll never need!

The evidence is overwhelming. Marco Pantani was doped, and probably from the beginning of his career. The evidence is the blood samples. The modes of defence are shown to make no medical sense, and the asides are also quite damning (why would cyclists want to set up bikes in their hotel room, during a Tour? it only makes any sense if their blood is thick and they need to get the heart pumping during the night. And it is thick because they take r-EPO).

I felt the book is very fair. It is certainly well researched and thorough. No hatchet job, this.