A year after his death it is no great surprised for a book about Pantani to come out even in America. There were several tribute books in Italy immediately after his death. Marco Pantani The Legend of a Tragic Champion is not a true biography but instead a collection of articles that had been written during his life and after his death and collected together by VeloNews editor John Wilcockson. There are a few new pieces as well as the interview with Pantani’s former girlfriend that was published in a Swiss magazine recently.
I have mixed feeling about this book. Since I am an unapologetic fan of Pantani I enjoyed the chance to read again about all his great exploits as well as the troubled last few years. The problem is that it is a highlight book and hits on his exploits in the Giro, Tour, and the ’95 World Championship but offers very little else. No interviews with former teammates about what it was like on the team in both the good times or bad. Very little about the racing years, as poor as they were, between the 2000 Tour and his final 2003 Giro. There was article that talked about the connections between Lance Armstrong and Pantani, but really outside the 2000 Tour their was little as Armstrong did not become a factor in the Grand Tours until after Pantani’s fall from grace.
For being such a charismatic person and a strong leader Pantani was still a very private person, and that is why there is so little about him outside the races. The most information on Pantani the person does come from the interview with Christina Jonsson. Her few comments about the sport are interesting since when they met she knew nothing about cycling and did not know who he was.
I am still awaiting a deep biography of Pantani, but I fear that this book only confirms my suspicions that at this point such a book is impossible.
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