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May he finally find peaceEditors,Today is truly a sad day in cycling. We are putting to rest one of the greatest cyclist and climbers the sport has seen. Not only was Marco a truly amazing cyclist. He came across as a truly passionate person. Marco will live in our memories. God bless you! May you now rest in peace.Doug BladesBrampton, Ontario In Memoriam: Marco PantaniIt was just one of many slogans scrawled onto the homemade bannersthat floated above a sea of cheering tifosi gathered atop the PassoMortirolo. Its truth, however, rang though the chaos and sticks in my headtoday. It said,

Marco Pantani was laid to rest before thousands of mourners in Cesenatico, Italy, Wednesday as prosecutors began their search for a drug dealer who supplied the former Tour de France winner with the cocaine that apparently killed him. Drugs and anti-depressants overshadowed Pantani's last days in much the same way doping allegations clouded a career in which he achieved a rare double of winning the classic French race and the Giro d'Italia in 1998, the last man to do so. At Pantani's funeral, tearful fans filed past his coffin in the church of San Giacomo Apostoli hours before his funeral.

Domínguez

The grief-stricken mother of Italian cycling great Marco Pantani blamedanti-doping investigators Tuesday for driving her son to his death.An initial autopsy Monday revealed Pantani, a former Tour de Francewinner, died from accumulated fluid in the brain and lungs. The 34-year-oldhad been at the center of a series of legal probes into doping."They murdered him," Tonina Pantani was quoted as saying in La Gazzettadello Sport ahead of a church ceremony honoring the cyclist in hishometown of Cesenatico.The body of Pantani will be dressed in a dark blue suit and a trademarkblack bandana, which

One day to rememberEditors;The moment that stands out the most for me in regards to Marco Pantaniwas last year's Giro. It was a huge mountain stage in the Alps and Pantaniwas struggling to get to the top, on his descent he was cut off by StephanGarzelli, and crashed to the side of the road on a snow bank. Hegot off his bike and was grimacing with pain and in tears, he ponderedwhether to continue or quit. Well after sitting on the side of the road and struggling with obvious pain and cuts for nearly 10 minutes Marco continued on and finishedthe race , having lost a lot of time from the leader.

Police officials in Rome are planning to investigate claims that Marco Pantani was supplied with cocaine, which may have contributed to his death last weekend, an Italian wire service, quoting sources close to the case, reported on Tuesday. The state prosecutor's office in Rome is expected to file a complaint against "unknown persons" for drug trafficking, a legal procedure allowing investigators to consider whether a crime such as dealing cocaine contributed to Pantani's death, according to the ANSA news agency. Friends of 34-year-old Pantani said he had been taking cocaine, which, when

Technical Q&A with Lennard Zinn - My, my, time for Pi

He got up and finished

Pozzato gets a good start to his season

Thierry Marichal (Lotto) andl Francisco José Ventoso (Suanier Duval)

Tech News: Tubeless road tire update

Tech News: Tubeless road tire update

Marco Pantani died of a heart attack and showed signs of cerebral edema and lung damage, according to initial reports from an autopsy carried out in Italy on Monday. Officials conducting the autopsy said it may be up to 60 days before they know the exact cause of death for the man who won both the Giro d' Italia and Tour de France in 1998. “We can’t rule out any cause of death,” said Professor Giuseppe Fortuni after the autopsy. “Today’s autopsy is only the first in a long series of tests. It will be a few weeks before we know the exact cause of death.” Pantani, a former winner of the

Italian newspapers devoted their entire front pages Sunday to the sudden death of Marco Pantani and fans walked the streets of the cyclist's hometown in a day of mourning for one of Italy's biggest and most troubled sports stars, the Associated Press reported. The Italian Cycling Federation instituted a moment of silence in every cycling event in Italy on Sunday as athletes and fans alike awoke to the news that one of the sport's greatest climbers had died. "This is terrible and shocking news," said five-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong. "My thoughts and condolences go out to his

Just as in 2003, the Navigators professional cycling team has again traveled to Tuscany for its pre-season training camp in Castagneto Carducci, a spot favored by many European teams. In this part of Tuscany the roads offer interesting, challenging routes in a beautiful rural setting. And just like last year, the Nav’s were guests at Carlo and Isa Guarguaglini’s Hotel Zi Martino. Carlo is an ex-pro who raced during the ‘60s as a gregario for Charly Gaul and with his wife Isa, and son Fausto, the family runs a hotel historically popular with teams like Motorola, Mapei, Rabobank and Lampre.

Put yourself in his shoesVeloNews,I'm in shock. I'm sad and depressed, but I am not surprised.In the span of a few short years, we have witnessed the triumphant arrival,the awesome creation and the tragic destruction of one of our sport's greatones. He was an historical figure, to be sure. A man so powerful,so outspoken, so passionate, so dedicated, is a rare thing to see.With all his faults (and who is perfect?) he was still larger than life.Marco Pantani infused the sport with incredible passion. He was asensitive man, giving to others - including his competitors - and dedicatedto the

Pantani said he felt persecuted

Time for Tuscany: The Nav's know where to train

Time for Tuscany: The Nav's know where to train

Time for Tuscany: The Nav's know where to train

Van Heeswijk edged Freire

Pantani relatives arrive at the mortuary of Rimini's hospital on Monday

Pantani's career had incredible highs...

The cycling world is spending much of Sunday struggling to come to grips with Italian champion Marco Pantani's sudden death in a hotel room late Saturday. Jan Ullrich, who finished second to Pantani in the 1998 Tour de France, heard the news at a training camp in Toscana. "You are always shocked when you hear about the death of a fellow sportsman," Germany's Olympic road race champion said. "Personally I can not say anything about it because I only know what I have heard in the media. For the past three years I was not in contact with Pantani." While a post-mortem will be held to determine

...and devastating lows (the 1999 Giro).

Italian cycling fans are mourning the death of the man whom many will consider the greatest Italian bike rider since the legendary Fausto Coppi, who alongside rival Gino Bartali ruled the peloton in the 1950s. However while Coppi died in mitigating circumstances after contracting a mystery illness in Africa, Marco Pantani's untimely death on Saturday, at the age of 34, may come as little surprise to many who followed the Tour de France and Giro d'Italia winner closely. Pantani began his professional career in 1995 after showing his climbing prowess by winning the 1992 “baby Giro,” a

Groenendaal showed that some days you're just better off on your own

No cause has yet been established for the cardiac arrest that ended Marco Pantani’s life on Saturday afternoon. A dozen jars, some part empty, of three types of anti-depressants were found in the small apartment where he died at a residential hotel in Rimini on Italy’s Adriatic coast. The time of death was put at 4 p.m., several hours before the hotel porter discovered the body, dressed only in jeans. Pantani’s death is a tragedy, made more poignant by the fact that it came on St. Valentine’s Day, just a month after his 34th birthday, in a hotel called the Rose. Pantani was alone. He split

The first break is the one that ultimately counted

12 laps through downtown Kuala Lumpur

Despite the Belgian colors, Nijs's had few allies in the chase group

Pantani joins a riders' strike in the '98 Tour de France, whch he eventually won

Wellens missed his chance at a grand slam

Police crowd the lobby of 'Le Rose' hotel in Rimini

Before the fall: Pantani leads the '99 Giro

Pantani, after winning the 15th stage of the 87th Tour de France in Courchevel

A moment to remember Pantani

Health Net's Scott Moninger is back

A moment to remember Pantani

Health Net's Fraser takes the points jersey

Fans gather at Le Rose Hotel to pay tribute

Authorities remove Pantani's body from the Le Rose hotel late Saturday

Former Tour de France winner Marco Pantani was found dead Saturday in the Italian seaside resort of Rimini, according to reports from the Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport and the ANSA news agency. Pantani's body was found on the floor near to his bed in "The Roses" hotel on the Adriatic coast, ANSA reported. The news agency reported it was not a violent death; medication was found in the fifth-floor room, but it was not immediately known if it had played any role in Pantani's death. An investigating magistrate and a doctor were in attendance at the hotel just after midnight local time

Stage 9 map

Yellow jersey Perez was having a bad day, but teammate Gonzales stepped up

Gonzales found seizing the overall was hot, sweaty work

Fraser collected some road rash during the neutralized start

SuperMario wins his first of 2004

Cofidis commands the front

Astarloa takes a slim lead into tomorrow's TTT

Pantani in 1998, when he won both the Tour and Giro

Fraser's got the points jersey, but Pagliarini has two stage wins

Health Net's Danny Pate

Health Net's Sayers and Lieswyn head to the hills tomorrow

Cooke nips SuperMario at the line

Astarloa holds onto his leader's jersey

The race winds past the Roguefavour Aqueduct

While some may consider Redlands to be the unofficial “season opener” to the U.S. road-racing calendar, it’s not like there’s really an Opening Day when everybody gets under way. Health Net-Maxxis has been racing for a week now in Malaysia, Navigators has the Tour Down Under and an Italian one-day race under its belt, and a number of pros have probably tested the waters in some warm-weather locales across the southern part of the U.S. But there’s no “pre-season” races in cycling, no exhibition games – once you start racing, everything counts. With that in mind, this weekend’s Valley of the

Stage 8 map

Pagliarini (l) takes it with a well-timed throw

The madness begins.

Perez (r) with teammate Gonzalez

Time for a bike throw...

... a matter of inches

A happy reminder that this is not the Tour de France

Bettini edges Astarloa for the win

Manitou has the upper hand... for now.

A federal grand jury charged four people on Thursday linked to the top names in international sport with 42 counts of distributing illegal steroids and human growth hormones. Following a six-month probe behind closed doors of the global sport doping scandal, U.S. officials charged Victor Conte, owner of Burlingame, California-based BALCO Laboratories, his vice-president Jim Valente, famous track coach Remi Korchemny and Greg Anderson, a personal trainer to U.S. baseball legend Barry Bonds. The four men are expected to appear in court on Friday. "While operating BALCO, Conte and others