A Little Strange, I Must Say
Marco Pantani dead at 34.
I have to admit that he wasn't my favorite pro cyclist, especially after he was caught doping, but he did win the Tour in 1998 and the Giro, too, that same year.
Apparently he was a little strange lately, checking in and out of mental hospitals, claiming the hounding of the press and the legal authorities had made life unbearable for him (never mind he was being hounded in a criminal investigation). He often referred to himself in the third person, always a sign of serious mental illness, in my opinion, but still, that's no reason to Nick Drake himself in a hotel room. His nickname in the peloton was il pirata, I guess for his ridiculously large gold earrings and bald head. Lance Armstrong famously called him elefantino (check out the ears), but again, that's no reason either (especially since he had them clipped last year). I feel bad for his parents, both of whom I believe are still living.
Cyclists do die every so often--some up-and-coming racer dies in his sleep because his blood is too thick with EPO or a horrific crash without a helmet scrambles the brains or someone ODs on antidepressants or a dangerous arrhythmia kicks in--but it's stilll so sad. Thirty-four is way too young.
I don't know what else to say.
Marco Pantani dead at 34.
I have to admit that he wasn't my favorite pro cyclist, especially after he was caught doping, but he did win the Tour in 1998 and the Giro, too, that same year.
Apparently he was a little strange lately, checking in and out of mental hospitals, claiming the hounding of the press and the legal authorities had made life unbearable for him (never mind he was being hounded in a criminal investigation). He often referred to himself in the third person, always a sign of serious mental illness, in my opinion, but still, that's no reason to Nick Drake himself in a hotel room. His nickname in the peloton was il pirata, I guess for his ridiculously large gold earrings and bald head. Lance Armstrong famously called him elefantino (check out the ears), but again, that's no reason either (especially since he had them clipped last year). I feel bad for his parents, both of whom I believe are still living.
Cyclists do die every so often--some up-and-coming racer dies in his sleep because his blood is too thick with EPO or a horrific crash without a helmet scrambles the brains or someone ODs on antidepressants or a dangerous arrhythmia kicks in--but it's stilll so sad. Thirty-four is way too young.
I don't know what else to say.
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