After the success at the Giro d’Italia, the Pirate had one more yearning reason to do well at the Tour; in fact, Luciano Pezzi had died a few days earlier, the old Sage who inspired him confidence and who more than anybody else had believed in him after the accident on the ascent of the Colle di Superga during the Milan – Turin stage three years earlier.
Pezzi had been right again: Marco’s talent and temperament were superior to his bad luck.
In the Dublin prologue Pantani started slowly; in fact, he came 181th out of 189 starters, gaining 43 ‘’ from Jan Ullrich, Grande Boucle winner and thought to be, in that period, an unbeatable racer.
The second individual time trial of that Tour de France was even worse for the Pirate.
In fact at the end of the long solitary trial against time, which from Meyrignac ended in Corrèze, Marco’s delay against the German athlete widened to 5’ 04” .
Once arrived on the Pyrenees, the Champion started reciting his mountain song, donating rays on the not so difficult Peyresourde, where he got at 36” from the fugitive of the day Rodolfo Massi.
The day after, the Pirate’s flight glided down over Plateau de Beille thanks to a winning solitary action.
On that occasion, he left the yellow jersey 1’40” behind, coming third on the general classification, 3’01” from the German.
The boy, who from the sea had become Prince of the mountains, understood at that point that the Alpes were the best territory where his power could explode and recover on the yellow horizon of Ullrich thanks also to the fatigue that day after day gripped more and more his opponents.
The Grenoble - Les Deux Alpes stage on the 27th July seemed to be ideal for breaking the bank with the hills to climb up and that stormy day, where only the Divine ones can fly.
On that occasion he remembered readings and action tales of his friend Gaul during the unforgettable stage of Aix les Bains forty years earlier, a race in very similar environmental conditions.
About 50 km from the finishing line, on the mythical Col du Galibier, Marco astonished the entire world seeing him attacking and everybody realized that they had seen a Legend, someone who was rising to Immortality.
Pantani reached the fugitives of the day, he overtook them before the top, he waited for them on the ascent and left them behind again with an unbeatable ascent in Les Deux Alpes.
He was for the first time a yellow jersey thanks to an enterprise amongst the greatest in the history of sport.
Ullrich came after 9’.
The day after during the stage that ended in Albertville, the German counterattacked as never in his career.
But the Pirate had become the King of the Tour ’98: he reached the opponent, whose pride was wounded, and controlled confidently.
Not even the interminable time trial of Le Creusot managed to prevent the Pirate from entering Paris on the 2nd August 1998 with a yellow jersey, cheered by hundreds of thousands of devout and admiring fans at his passing.
The race who loved most, that Tour de France, that he dreamt of since a child had climbed on a bicycle, was finally his.
And with the Giro - Tour two consecutive victories, he entered the club of the pedal Legendaries.
