After Carpegna, also the Mortirolo will be named in memory of Marco Pantani. The mayors of the municipalities of Mazzo di Valtellina and Monno, the two places where the climbs to Mortirolo originate from the Valtellina and Brescia sides, have completed the process to name the pass after Pirata. Mortirolo-Cima Pantani is the place where it was revealed, al 1994 tourthe talent of the climber from Romagna: during the stage between Merano and Aprica, on 5 June thirty years ago, Pantani broke away from Indurain and Berzin and went on to win solo. By a strange twist of fate, Pantani will never ride the road that goes up to Mortirolo again in a race after that day. It should have been on June 5, 1999, during the Madonna di Campiglio-Aprica. But things went, as we know, in a completely different direction.
Evgeni Berzin: “Marco Pantani was shot to educate a hundred. I won the Giro 30 years and 30 kilos ago, today I sell used cars in the Oltrepò Pavese”
Cosimo Cito
A seven-year process
The idea of naming the Mortirolo after Pantani, as local news reports, was Lorenzo Tomasia sportsman from Valtellina, who then involved the Pirate’s mamma, Toninaand subsequently the mayors of Mazzo di Valtellina and Monno. After seven years the process is concluded. Carpegna, a climb between Romagna and Marche dear to Pantani, the place of his training, has been named after the Pirate since 25 March 2023.
An amateur took away Nibali’s climbing record
Meanwhile, some truly curious news has arrived from Mortirolo. Amateur cyclist Jack Burke, 29, broke the Strava record on the hard side of the Mortirolo (11.85 km at 10.8%), with a time of 43’45”. The previous record dates back to 2019 and was held by Vincenzo Nibali, who clocked 44’52” at the 2019 Giro. In a video published on social media, the 29-year-old Canadian said that he hoped to attract the attention of the World Tour teams with this venture: “Hopefully this will give me an opportunity. I just want to have a chance to compete against the best.”
Nibali: “I’m still a Ferrari, just a little dusty. Italian cycling needs a leader”
by Cosimo Cito
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