It is 26 years since Marco Pantani won the Tour de France and 20 years since his tragic death, yet the Italian climber remains one of the most celebrated but also controversial riders in the long history of the race.
Pantani is just one of seven Italians to have won the Tour de France and he completed a rare Giro-Tour double in 1998, just as Tadej Pogačar is trying to do this year.
