It’s always a let down for a fan to realise his or her idol is not all that they were held up to be. And while I was somewhat a fan of Marco Pantani, it was neither a surprise nor a let-down to read about his troubled life, and his subsequent sad, lonely death.
It wasn’t a surprise, or a let-down, to read that possibly his whole career was fueled by a dependence on recombinant EPO, among other performance enhancers. I knew it while watching him win the Tour in 98, I knew it when I watched him vainly struggle to hold the wheel of a super-charged Armstrong in the 2000 Tour, and I knew it when I saw him valiantly try to re-capture his former climbing prowess against the lesser gifted, yet somehow superior Simoni and Garzelli et al in the 2003 Giro, his ultimate swansong as it would eventually transpire.
Did I care that he was loaded? No. All his contemporaries were, it was no secret. Did I get an invigorating thrill from watching him fly up iconic mountain passes while holding the bars in the drops, sitting, standing, always accelerating, striving to get to the summit as quickly as possible, to shorten the suffering as he often stated? Hell yes. He was an entertainer. He was a craftsman. An aesthete. And he was a loner, foregoing any real support from a team that lacked talent and panache, something that probably pleased him as he loved to be the centre of attention.
And just as he rode alone, he lived alone. Although he was surrounded by an entourage who all claimed to be doing their best for him, ultimately he was neglected by them, and left to die a lonely, depressed, paranoid and disturbed man.
The Death of Marco Pantani doesn’t try to dispel the notion that his career was based on deception, nor does it try to glorify it. It is a stark assessment of the facts, and only the staunchest of tifosi could argue against those facts. But it still hits hard to read of such a spectacular fall from grace, the downward spiral from the pinnacle of the sport, and indeed from the pinnacle of celebrity, to a demise that one would normally associate with that of a rock star or actor. Maybe that’s how he saw himself, and how he thought it would be befitting for him to be remembered, like an Elvis, a Jim Morrison or even a James Dean.
Just as we still listen to The Doors, and watch Viva Las Vegas or Rebel Without a Cause and take pleasure from the experience, so too will we remember Les Duex Alpes in 98, or l’Alpe d’Huez in 95 and 97, not because we were watching a flawed individual, but because we were being entertained by a consumate showman, a master of his craft at the height of his profession.
And for that I can only be appreciative. RIP Marco.
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You want me to send it from NZ to the US?
How about nooooooo...
http://www.amazon.com/Death-Marco-Pantani-Biography/dp/0297850962
@frank
I didn't say that Kimmage was a good guy just that the book was a good read - you would have to agree that it was enlightening. And I disagree with your interpretation of his doping. Didn't he do it in a post-Tour crit which was effectively meaningless?
No doubt he was/is a nasty piece of work...
@Marcus
I didn't mean to imply that he should be dismissed; I was trying to say that due to his mentality and his bitter writing style, that it's easy to dismiss him as such. And yeah, I don't think he doped much. Just once or twice, at minor races. Which is all the more reason it's disappointing his style makes it so easy to disregard him.
But I agree, the book was enlightening, but I found his attitude in it unappealing. Like I said, Dog in a Hat was much better. And, Breaking the Chain, I thought, was truly Earth shattering.
Breaking the Chain was a beauty - thinking of that book prompted me to do a quick check of the Lexicon. I couldn't find an entry for "Reeshard"... surely that super-douche qualifies for his own listing?
@Marcus
yeah, we really need something for him. Reeshard is a good start though...
@Marcus, @brett
I always called him "Tricky Dickie".
@frank @marcus @brett
Tricky Dicky
@marcus
Kimmage a nasty piece of work? What fucking planet are you on? A Rough Ride wasn't the easiest read, but perhaps you'd be a bit bitter if you'd gone from being a champion to an also ran. People react differently to failure. I think Kimmage was immensely brave for writing the book, don't forget he was the first. Without him the chances are many of the other books might not have been written. He is also one of the best journalists out there, he is willing to ask questions of people and still one of the few to have stood up to Armstrong and it seems to take a lot of balls to question/stand-up to Armstrong. Kimmage was right all along as well, he is one of the good guys, along with David Walsh (Lance to Landis author).
@Jarvis
Was referring to Kimmage's persona - he comes across as being pretty sour on life and bitter about cycling (maybe forgive the latter, but not the former). He would most likely disdainfully call all velominatus a bunch of 'chamois-sniffers'.
He doesn't exactly come across as the kinda guy who you would want to hang out with - examples off the top of my head: his description near the end of the book of riding L'Etape; and his (self-admitted) shoddy treatment of his in-car partner during a Tour he covered as a journo. Nasty is the right word I believe.
I do applaud his courage for spitting in the soup (see my first post above) - but he was never a 'champion' rider - which he candidly admitted.
sorry, read velominati above.
I was nervous to read this book, as I was worried it wasn't about cycling, it was about doping... but reading this article tells me I should get over it and read the bloody thing. I read Kimmage's book, and it nearly put me off cycling. It certainly made me half the size of my next internet order of EPO and ease back on ingesting extra testosterone for about a week. I know he's a 'real journalist' relentlessly seeking the truth, but it does smack of a crusade. That youtube video of him vs. Pharmstrong is compelling viewing... even if CoTHO makes good points (e.g. "David Millar, and I like him, was caught with his fingers in the cookie jar... he then chose to speak out against doping")
Don't know if you've read 'Le Metier' by Michael Barry, but that is an awesome book about the pro-cyclists way of life... unfortunately currently slightly tarnished by Landis' accusations against Barry (who has always appeared anti-doping)... with great insights into every aspect of cycling, throughout the seasons (Winter, Spring, Summer, Autumn - that's 'Fall' for you yanks) culminating in his late season stage win in Tour of California, where he just applied Rule 5 and blew away everybody else because his legs just felt stronger and he could dish more hurt. I finished that chapter, got on my bike, and rode the longest I've ever ridden at the highest average speed, imagining I was at the head of the paceline trying to get my sprinter to the 10km to go line in good position - I was picking up random cyclists en route, and telling them to "take my wheel, I'll get you back to the peloton"... am sure that's why there are still cyclists in London who point at me, and won't make eye contact. A great book about what's good about road cycling (second only to the Rider, as has been pointed out)