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CYCLING

‘No evidence Pantani was murdered’: prosecutor

Nothing has emerged in the latest investigation into the death of Italian cycling star Marco Pantani to indicate he was murdered, the public prosecutor in Rimini said on Friday.

'No evidence Pantani was murdered': prosecutor
Marco Pantani died in a Rimini hotel room on February 14th 2004. Photo: Patrick Hertzog/AFP

"So far no evidence to suggest murder has emerged," prosecutor Paolo Giovagnoli was quoted as saying in the Italian press concerning Pantani's death a decade ago.

Officially, Pantani died from a heart attack brought on by massive cocaine consumption at the Hotel Le Rose in Rimini on the night of February 14th 2004.

An investigation was reopened by Rimini prosecutors in August after Pantani's family lawyer Antonio De Rensis provided fresh evidence said to support claims of foul play.

But a leading forensic scientist commissioned by prosecutors to reinvestigate the legendary cyclist's death claimed on Thursday that Pantani may have accidentally killed himself after voluntarily ingesting a "mixture of medicinal drugs and cocaine".

In a report obtained by AFP, Professor Franco Tagliaro's conclusions appear to contradict claims by Pantani's family that the 34-year-old cyclist was murdered.

Two enquiries have been reopened by the Italian legal system into the Pantani affair, which continues to captivate Italians.

The first concerns the rider's death and the second a possible case of "sporting fraud" when Pantani was thrown out of Giro in 1999 for failing a blood test 36 hours before the race finished in Milan while holding a six-minute advantage.

It was the beginning of the scandal and the eventual demise of a rider known as 'Il Pirata' (The Pirate).

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CYCLING

Swiss rider dies after fall into ravine on Tour of Switzerland

Swiss rider Gino Maeder has died from the injuries he sustained when he plunged into a ravine during a stage of the Tour of Switzerland, his team Bahrain-Victorious said on Friday.

Swiss rider dies after fall into ravine on Tour of Switzerland

Maeder, 26, fell during a high-speed descent on the fifth stage between Fiesch and La Punt on Thursday, after an exhausting day marked by three ascents over 2,000 metres altitude.

He had been found “lifeless in the water” of a ravine below the road, “immediately resuscitated then transported to the hospital in Chur by air”, organisers said.

But the next day, “Gino lost his battle to recover from the serious injuries he sustained,” Bahrain-Victorious said in a statement.

“It is with deep sadness and heavy hearts that we must announce the passing of Gino Mäder,” his team wrote in a statement.

“On Friday June 16th, following a very serious fall during the fifth stage of the Tour de Suisse, Gino lost his fight to recover from the serious injuries he had suffered. Our entire team is devastated by this tragic accident, and our thoughts and prayers are with Gino’s family and loved ones at this incredibly difficult time.”

“Despite the best efforts of the phenomenal staff at Chur hospital, Gino couldn’t make it through this, his final and biggest challenge, and at 11:30am we said goodbye to one of the shining lights of our team,” the team said in a statement.

Maeder had enjoyed a strong start to the season, finishing fifth in the Paris-Nice race.

American rider Magnus Sheffield also fell on the same descent from Albula, during the most difficult stage of the race with multiple climbs. The Ineos-Grenadiers rider was hospitalised with “bruises and concussion,” organisers said.

On Thursday, world champion Remco Evenepoel criticised the decision to compete on such a dangerous road.

“While a summit finish would have been perfectly possible, it wasn’t a good decision to let us finish down this dangerous descent,” the Belgian wrote on Twitter.

“As riders, we should also think about the risks we take going down a mountain.”

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