Was Marco Pantani's 1999 Giro d'Italia expulsion related to the Mafia?

New investigation into whether the Mafia were involved in Marco Pantani's exclusion from the 1999 Giro d'Italia

Marco Pantani

(Image credit: Watson)

Marco Pantani's 1999 Giro d'Italia expulsion is at the centre of a new investigation that opened in September in Forlì, Italy. Public prosecutor Carlo Sottani is examining if the Mafia and sporting fraud had a hand in the Italian cyclist's high haematocrit anti-doping test and dismissal while in the race leader's pink jersey.

Sottani opened his inquiry while a separate investigation into Pantani's death ongoing in Rimini, 33 miles away in the same Emilia-Romagna region.

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Gregor Brown

Gregor Brown is an experienced cycling journalist, based in Florence, Italy. He has covered races all over the world for over a decade - following the Giro, Tour de France, and every major race since 2006. His love of cycling began with freestyle and BMX, before the 1998 Tour de France led him to a deep appreciation of the road racing season.