Marco Pantani in action at the 2002 Giro d'Italia(Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
A pensive Marco Pantani (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
Marco Pantani on the attack ahead of maglia rosa Gilberto Simoni during stage 19 of the 2003 Giro d'Italia (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Marco Pantani in action during the 2002 Giro d'Italia(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
A feature documentary on Marco Pantani, the enigmatic Italian cyclist who died of a cocaine overdose on February 14, 2004, will be released in UK cinemas in late April.
Pantani: The Accidental Death of a Cyclist charts the extraordinary rise of the gifted climber who won the Giro d'Italia and the Tour de France in 1998, before being plagued by allegations of doping and succumbing to depression. In 1999, he was thrown off the Giro for irregular blood values linked to EPO use. He died in a hotel room in Rimini, 10 years ago and a day after his 34th birthday.
The film – which premiered in Italy last week – mixes archive race footage, reconstructions and interviews with riders including Bradley Wiggins, Greg LeMond and Evgeni Berzin.
The film is written, directed and co-produced by James Erskine. Victoria Gregory, whose credits include the BAFTA Award-winning film, Senna, a biopic about the charismatic Brazilian F1 driver and the Oscar winning Man on Wire.
