Update II: Pantani's 1998 Bianchi Auction

Continuing the story in which a supposedly Marco Pantani bike is to be auctioned, and which now the Pantani family says is not the Bianchi ridden by Marco (original story about the auction, first statement from Pantani family)..... I have been following up on the original story as it provides an important lesson in the pitfalls that await buyers that are interested in buying important cycling pieces of history. You must be very careful.

Below are photographs the Pantani family provided that refute the claim that it is Pantani's bike as used on the 1998 Grenoble-Les Deux Alpes stage, and later in 1999 at Milan-San Remo. The top photograph is of the bike being auctioned (the Mr. Corsini owned bike that is to be auctioned); the remaining photographs are of Marco Pantani racing in those races and clearly showing the differences (the numbered arrows). Click on photos to enlarge.

The communications from the Pantani family concludes with, "Fortunately there are official documents such as these photos that say the exact opposite (of what Mr. Corsini claims). Just look at them. And draw from them the appropriate conclusions.
With understanding and affection,
Tonina Belletti
Paolo Pantani"






Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, etc. are very welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 1,600 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog. There is also an Italian weather widget along the right side and a translate button at the bottom so you can translate each page. What I'm riding.