Prosecutors look at Pantani murder claims

Suspicions cyclists forced to drink deadly cocaine dose

(ANSA) - Rome, August 4 - Prosecutors in the Italian seaside town of Rimini have reopened the case of Marco Pantani after the late cyclist's family presented evidence to suggest he may have been murdered. Pantani was found dead aged 34 in Rimini 10 years ago, and a court there ruled that he had died after accidentally overdosing on cocaine.

The rider, the last man to complete the Tour de France-Giro d'Italia double in the same year in 1998, was known to have a drug problem and his career had been dogged by doping scandals. But his mother, Tonina Pantani, never believed the official account of his death and relentlessly campaigned for the case to be reopened, saying the much-loved cyclist was murdered. She presented a report to prosecutors with evidence that she says shows that Pantani was beaten and then forced to drink a lethal dose of cocaine dissolved in liquid.

As a result, chief Rimini prosecutor Paolo Giovagnoli ordered one of his magistrates to open a probe against possible unknown perpetrators of the murder on Friday. The probe is expected to start in earnest in September after Italy's summer holiday's season. The Pantani family say cuts and bruises on Pantani's body showed he had been beaten. They also argue that the amount of cocaine found in his system could have only been reached if he had drunk it. They say Pantani, who was nicknamed the pirate for his penchant for wearing bandanas and earrings and his bold attacks on tough mountain climbs, would not have done so willingly. "I want answers, that's all," Tonina Pantani told ANSA on Monday. "When I have those answers, I'll be fine. "If I've battled for 10 years, it's because something was not right".

She added that she had been inundated with messages of support via social media from all over the world since the news of the reopening of the case broke at the weekend. "I didn't expect anything from anyone, but I knew how much affection there was for Marco," she said. "It wasn't necessary for them to show this after the case was reopened. The affection was there before too. "If I did all this, I did in part thanks to the strength that the fans have given me over the years".