Marco Pantani is remembered by a legion of fans as one of the greatest climbers in cycling history. If the comparison is limited to the mountains, few names can dispute his place among the best of all time. However, his figure was always shrouded in controversy: he was part of a generation hit by doping and his own death continues to be surrounded by unknowns and theories that feed the black legend that accompanied the 'Pirate'.
First steps in a year destined to be historic
The 1998 season began for Pantani in Spain, with performances that did not anticipate what was to come: 68th in the Trofeo Luis Puig, 11th in the Clásica de Almería and 3rd in the Vuelta a Murcia, where he also won a stage victory.
In the spring classics he only took the start in the Milano - Sanremo, although he was unable to complete it. His sights were set on the big objectives of the year, and in preparation for the Giro he took part in both the Itzulia Basque Country and the Giro del Trentino. In the latter he finished a solid fourth, only beaten by Paolo Salvoldelli, Dario Frigo and Francesco Casagrande, 27 seconds behind the winner and just one second off the podium.
Absolute dominance in the Giro d'Italia
The 1998 Giro d'Italia was Pantani's consecration. In the Corsa Rosa he took two stage victories, finished second three times, third once and fourth once. His consistency and superiority in the mountains allowed him to win the mountains classification and be crowned overall champion, defeating rivals such as Pavel Tonkov, Giuseppe Guerini, Oscar Camenzind and Daniel Clavero. It was his first Grand Tour, the highlight of his career up to that point.
Without a competitive break between the two events, Pantani directly linked the Giro with the Tour de France. There he once again showed himself to be the great climber of the moment. He won two stages, accumulated five podiums and achieved a historic triumph against riders such as Jan Ullrich, Bobby Julich, Christophe Rinero or Michael Boogerd. His victory in Paris completed a Giro-Tour double that was only within the reach of cycling's great legends.
Marco Pantani completes a historic Giro d'Italia - Tour de France double
A still competitive end to the season
Just two days after being crowned in Paris, Pantani showed that his ambition had no pause by winning the two short time trials at A Travers Lausanne, held on the same day. He would later take ninth place in the Breitling Grand Prix, before rounding off his mammoth campaign with victories in the Circuit de l'Aube and the Rominger Classic, two high-level races that certified the dimension of an unrepeatable year.
The 1998 season is still considered by far the best of his entire career. A year in which Marco Pantani reached the pinnacle of world cycling and which, despite the permanent shadow of controversy, continues to nurture his status as a myth.
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Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
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Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
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- JV is really slighting himself with not doing the 1 dayers.. 🤷
leedorney02-11-2026 - Watch the interview on youtube. I don't speak French. I do speak English and Spanish and you can hear it in his voice. Years ago LeMond had real personal problems I imagine in no small part because of Armstrong. then Armstrong goes round "full blast" re: LeMond having drinking and drug problems. The same way Andreu was expelled from mainstream cycling so was LeMond. On the positive side the clips of the ride and chatting with old teammates and was good. To seemed like a fun day and experience and good reason brush up his French.atom02-11-2026
- and another no-news article around the ‚2 tokyo jogging rounds‘ headline, this time spiced with some days old ‚news‘ that the LA and japan vacation trips come during or after the tdf route release. i am getting more and more annoyed by this time-stealing no-news crap. but who am i to complain? nobody forces me to come back for more ‚news‘ day after day …Ketterechts02-11-2026
- It would likely be a very steep section of 4.1 km, not changing the average gradient considerably, with the climb remaining 10.1 km at 11.8%. It would reach 20% on the gravel. It would start 1.6 km in, and finish with 4.2 km left to climb (before the short final descent)
Rafionain-Glas02-11-2026 - Welcome to the off-season.
santiagobenites02-11-2026 - guillaume martin in this list is quite a surprise as a gc rider.Ketterechts02-11-2026
- Who cares what Bruyneel thinks. He and his best mate Lance, the biggest fraud in the history of sport, have no place commenting on anything but how to lie and cheat!whit2pet02-11-2026
- Eeesh!Lozza02-11-2026
- bravo! a rider likes jonas needs motivation and he needs to believe in being able to reach goals. he - like anybody else in the world - doesn't believe that he can win the tdf with pogi present. and what's it worth for when pogi is not there? second class victory only. he has checked all three grand tours, so what is left if not retire? the classics! go for it, jonas!Ketterechts02-11-2026
- i am sure that under the pretext of medical examination a lot worse has happened when they were under.abstractengineer02-11-2026
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