Pantani

And, so, I suppose Armstrong was the best too? He only cheated other cheaters, right? Because when they are all doing it, it is a level playing field isn't it? Except they weren't all doing it, a few chose not to and they deserve to be remembered when people are eulogising Pantani.
Bjarne Riis was ridiculed for being Mr 60%, the perfect example of a donkey turned in to a race horse by drugs. But Pantani's haematocrit was 60% when he crashed in Milan-Turin. Why was he not a natural donkey? Well, because he had panache, style, charisma and he attacked. I watched Bjarne Riis attack on Hautacum in 1996. He had no charm or style but he attacked. Admittedly he wasn't an Italian on a Bianchi so obviously he can't be compared to the great Pantani.
We don't know what his natural ability was because he never raced without doping and doping can transform some people more than it does others. I liked Pantani but I can't bear to watch racing from that era any more because it's just pathetically sad and ridiculous and nobody embodies that better than Pantani. He convinced himself, as Armstrong did, that he was naturally great and the drugs had nothing to do with it. Continuing to maintain that conceit on his behalf after his death doesn't really do his memory any favours.