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13 February 2006

DVD Review: Pantani - The Pirate

Pantani - The Pirate

The review of the brand new Bromley Video release of Pantani - The Pirate was a desired pleasure for us here at BiciRace.com. The staff all fought over the rights to watch the DVD and write the review, such is the popularity of the late Italian Marco Pantani.

It was a treat, indeed! It's not nearly as long as some of Bromley's other offerings (clocking in at 145 minutes total), but then the career of Marco Pantani was not as long either. What the DVD lacks in length, it more than makes up for with excitement that only Pantani himself is capable of offering.

GC Fausto Coppi Days

The DVD begins with the story of a young Pantani riding for the GC Fausto Coppi club in his hometown of Cesenatico. There is plenty of footage of the teenager riding while those who were close to him relive his first glories. His parents, his first director sportif and other locals in Cesenatico to all fondly recall how he flew up mountains even then as a junior rider in the local races.

One of the most touching scenes is Pantani's father, Paolo, talking about Marco riding off for numerous hours to discover the world from the saddle of his bicycle. Paolo talks about Marco riding 100 kilometers away and returning at the end of the day telling his dad that 'I went up this climb or that climb...' Paolo would ask: "Why did you do that?" Marco would simply reply: "Because it's there." To hear a defining moment in a great champion's discovery of road and bicycle is something all of us can relate to.

Inspiration for All

Pantani was the rider that made me want to ride a bike. I can recall the first few times I saw him in action and I thought how exciting he made the sport of cycling look. He would race more on emotion and bravado than with the bottom line accounting style of Lance Armstrong. You never knew what would happen with Pantani, sometimes he would rip the field apart and sometimes he was nowhere to be found.

There is a lot of exciting video footage of Il Pirata in action doing what he does best - climbing mountains. The Bromley DVD chapters feature the 1994 Giro d'Italia and Tour de France where the young 24 year-old finished on the podium in both races. Amazingly it was his first finish of la Corsa Rosa, after a 1993 abandon, and his first participation of La Grand Boucle. The 1995 Tour where he was victorious for the first time on Alpe d'Huez and also won the stage to Guzet-Neige. The 1995 World Championships in Colombia where he was narrowly edged out of second in the sprint by a raging Miguel Indurain. The 1995 Milano-Torino where Pantani was involved in a horrific accident that left his leg broken in two places and his career in doubt. And his comeback year, 1997, where at the Tour he climbed to victory in two stages (Alpe d'Huez and Morzine) and finished third overall.

The 1997 Alpe d'Huez stage is one of my all-time favorite Pantani victories. He made it look so easy to get into the drops and out of the saddle to raise the tempo, sit back down for a few strokes and then do it repeatedly until everybody is blasted. Pantani himself talks in detail about the stage he won from Courchevel to Morzine, involving the spine-tingling descent from Joux-Plane to the finish line.

The Magical Year of 1998

The Bromley DVD provides excellent coverage of the Italian's magical year of 1998, where he joins cycling royalty by winning the Giro-Tour double. The style that Pantani won the Tour was absolutely legendary - In one fell swoop he went for the jugular and delivered the death blow to Jan Ulrich on the slopes of the Galibier. The gutsy move leaves you longing for the old days (ok, eight years ago) where GC contenders would attack with more than one climb to go.

Style and Legend

Part two of the DVD is jammed with lots of 'bonus' footage, like film from his fan club and a review of all the jersesys worn by Pantani in career. In an exclusive interview his final manager Manuela Ronchi justifiably described Pantani on a bike as a "work of art". What made the little Italian so beautiful was the way would throw caution to the wind. If he couldn't win with style, it wasn't worth winning. Pantani - The Pirate successfully captures the Italian's amazing bravado for the viewers.

The DVD does not go very far into Pantani's career post 1998. There is no footage of the 1999 Giro where he was ejected or the 2000 Tour where he won his last two races. The directors preferred to focus on the legend of Il Pirata, before his downfall (after Madonna di Campiglio), the way Pantani would like us to remember him.
- Franco

Price: £24.99 ($44.00 or €37.00)

Visit Bromley Video for this and other great DVD's.