The Frame

As I found quite easily, Pantani rode a series of custom-built Bianchi Mega Pro EV2 XL frames during his time with the Mercatone Uno team of 1998. Here is an example of a 1998/99 year production replica:

 

The production replicas were supplied with Bianchi carbon forks (1" unthreaded) in contrast to the actual team bikes which had TIME full carbon forks.

These frames are clearly different to the later 2000 year onwards production replicas in terms of paint scheme and decals:

Tube material was all Dedacciai and contrary to many reports, Pantani's bike was NOT formed from the Deda SC61.10A but instead exclusive heat-treated double-butted 7000 Aluminium. This was the last metal frame to win the Tour De France remember.

Anyway, after much internet trawling it is clear that the 1998/99 paint and decal scheme are the hardest to find and most of those are SC61.10A. It may take me some time to find exactly what I want.

There is much confusion, some inadvertant and some deliberate, surrounding the Pantani 1998 bikes.  A prime example is the Cycling News article I have linked below. The bike they are trying to pass off as a Pantani bike is clearly wrong in so many ways (carbon shifters, black anodised seatpost clamp, white TIME equipe pedals). Most importantly, and always a dead giveaway - NO LEFT SIDE DOWNTUBE SHIFTER. For reasons only clear to himself, Pantani rode the '98 Tour with the Campagnolo Ergo shifter on the left disassembled and with a substituted left side downtube friction shifter. Check it out and see what you think:  Cycling News "Pantani bike" 

This nonsense came to a head in 2010 when two so-called Pantani bikes were sold at an Italian auction. The bike that supposedly was used by Pantani to win on Les Deux Alpes sold for 13,000euros (over $20,000 at the time). It didnt take long for the Pantani family to issue a vehment and well supported denial that the bike had anything to do with Pantani! Funnily enough the auctioned bike wasn't even Deda 7000 Alu, it was SC61.10A - and proudly displayed the decal on the seat tube.

For more details, check out the links to the initial story followed by the excellent and illustrated pantani family denial.

Pantani Bikes Auctioned 

Pantani family denies authenticity of auctioned bikes 

So, bearing in mind all the potential pitfalls that await, at least I now have a definite target in terms of frame, tube material and year of manufacture. I guess my first stop will have to be eBay - I will let you know as soon as I make any progress.

Some corrections.

OK I clearly got my facts twisted. Pantani climbed Alpe D'Huez in 1997 NOT 1998, and was riding a Wilier bike which, although pretty awesome looking, is not what I want to build. Forgive me I am not a procycling historian.

So anyway, it seems like I should focus on Stage 15 of the 1998 Tour which travelled 189km from Grenoble to Les Deux Alpes with the climbs of Croix de Fer, Telegraphe, Galibier and obviously Les Deux Alpes. If you would like a taste of Pantani at his rocket-fuelled best check out this Youtube gem...

I'm lucky enough to have seen the Tour in 2012 on the roadside of Galibier and Lautaret so I have a pretty good idea what a bitch these hills must be to climb so it does pain me slightly to  readjust my promise to the blogosphere from climbing Alpe D'Huez, to climbing Col du Galibier before next year's Tour. Im going the easier way up too, OK?



Voeckler (Europcar) in Yellow on descent of Galibier 2012 [JRS]

Having at last pinned down exactly my most inspirational Pantani stage, it thankfully took me only a few Google-minutes (multiply by 7 for real-life minutes) to determine what kind of bike Il Pirata was riding.....a Bianchi Mega Pro XL EV2. Easy!

So this weeks plan: TRAWL INTERWEB FOR CHEAP PANTANI FRAME.

Cant foresee any problems with that, so I promise to update tomorrow.

The Day After The Night Before.

Damn you, Internet.

I'm guessing I was a little tired and emotional after watching the Pantani film last night [link]. I'm also guessing the bottle of Chianti Rose contributed. Normally my fantastical late night meanderings are soon forgotten, but unfortunately, as my wife pointed out this morning, I made the mistake of committing my thoughts to the blogosphere last night. My wife believes I have made a promise not only to her but to the world and have therefore made a commitment I cannot somehow escape from this morning.

Step one initially seemed pretty straightforward - find a 1998 Bianchi frame and components in order to build an accurate replica of one of Pantani's TdF winning bikes. After some lightweight initial investigation things may not quite be so straightforward.

In order to provide some pictoral interest to this blog I will be peppering it with some of my own photos, most of which will have some degree of cycling interest. Please feel free to comment or correct any errors. Hopefully this will sustain any interest while I carry out some more research into this damn Bianchi bike used by Pantani.

Valverde (Movistar) ITT into Mont St. Michel 2013 TdF



Why Pantani?

Pantani on Alpe D'Huez 1998

I first saw the Tour De France on television in 1998 and I have been absolutely captivated by the event ever since. I have stood by the side of no-name French roads for 4 hours just to see a multi-coloured swarm of hyper-athletes stream past me in 20 seconds. I have also spent a week on top of Alpe D'Huez for the priviledge of seeing those same men haul themselves up the mountain twice in one day with sunken eyes and near-death, vasoconstricted, lactic overloaded faces.

Chris Froome (Team Sky) ITT to Mont St. Michel 2013

In no way can I be considered an athlete. I have limited mechanical skills and the last bike I owned was a Rayleigh Arena 5 Speed given to me on my 12th birthday. I do however,share the birthday of a dead Italian cyclist called Marco Pantani.

To me, Pantani is the distillation of this romantic, complex and corrupt sport called Professional Cycling. When I recently saw the film Pantani: Accidental Death of a Cyclist [IMDB link] something weird happened to me. As the film credits rolled, I decided I was going to build a bike as close as possible to the gorgeous Bianchi he used to win on Alpe D'Huez in '98 and then use that bike to climb the Alpe in under 60 minutes before next year's Tour.

It is possible I may have been slightly drunk at the time, which is probably why I told my wife about my foolproof plan. She seemed pleased and encouraged the idea - I suspect this is mainly because my last Grand Plan involved buying a barn find 1973 Citroen DS from a farmer near Lourdes (miracles, and all that).

Anyway, with Pantani as my inspiration, and my wife as my soigneur I have decided to document this folly in a blog. 

Wish me luck.