The Italian Corriere della Sera seems to be in possession of Operación Puerto information which suggests that Italian cycling icon Marco Pantani, who died in the spring of 2004 as a consequence of his drug addiction, was also a 'patient' of Dr Eufemiano Fuentes, now incriminated in a vast doping affair. According to the paper, Pantani turned to Fuentes in 2003, and was given the code name PTNI in Fuentes' records. The doctor gave 'PTI' more than 40,000 units of EPO, seven doses of growth hormone, thirty doses of anabolic steroids and four doses of hormones used to treat menopause.
According to the Spanish investigation, Fuentes applied a minimal tariff to Pantani: €36,000 were spent for that treatment. Between 2002 and 2006, Fuentes and associates are believed to have earned at least €8 million from their doping activities.
