Road Bike Racing - Pantani in Treatment for Depression

Has anyone read about Pantani being in a clinic
for depression and alcohol abuse (or some type of
substance abuse).
Nothing on Cyclingnews.com or VeloNews but
check out Procycling (http://www.procycling.com/news_main.asp?newsId=4571) for 2 stories.

While I've always poked fun of Marco, he sure doesn't
need this. Hope he gets himself sorted out soon.


Marty

Yea I wish him all the best and a speedy recovery.

Link to velonews, Pantani is at the bottom of page. (http://www.velonews.com/race/int/articles/4175.0.html)

Link to cyclingnews Pantani is 5th headline down. (http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/?id=2003/jun03/jun24news)

Funny that VeloNews and Cyclingnews.com give it little
mention (other than he's in a clinic) when they were
very vocal about Frank VDB (I can't spell it :D ) being
hospitalized for depression.

thanks for the links.

Marty

At first his admission to the hospital was denied by the team and then a day later Pantani himself admitted to it.

I think everyone is so tired of Pantani's on again off again personality that they just don't feel he deserves the attention he once received. It's been a long time since he had solid results, it's been a long time since he's been on the bike competitively for more then a month ... it's gotten old.

Agreed.

Thats why I usually just ignore him, its a given
he will just go away.

Marty

Perhaps his battle with clinical depression has been the culprit behind his off and on again career. I've never liked him, but at the same time, when someone is in the abyss of severe depression, it can be very hard to stay motivated and preform, an essential personality ingredient in all consistent winners.

Originally posted by cbhungry
Perhaps his battle with clinical depression has been the culprit behind his off and on again career.

Hard to say, but if that's true he has no one to blame but himself for putting it off for so long.

To me it just seems like another excuse in a long list of reasons why he can't perform well this season. I do hope that if this is real he gets better and can start racing cleanly again ... it would be nice to see him at the front of the peloton on the climbs.

Originally posted by Ba-Dg-Er
Hard to say, but if that's true he has no one to blame but himself for putting it off for so long.


Putting what off?

Originally posted by brent_dube
Putting what off?

Treatment of his depression.

In the article that KevinG linked to

He (Pantani) was quoted in the Italian press as saying "I'm here [in the clinic] because the [anti-doping] inspectors are on my back, but I will soon start riding again. . .

Sounds suspiciously like he's trying to dodge the doping
issue, and in that case all bets are off with me, it just
reinforces my negative opinion of him.

Marty

Originally posted by lotek
Sounds suspiciously like he's trying to dodge the doping
issue, and in that case all bets are off with me, it just
reinforces my negative opinion of him.

I think he is refering just to the stresses of having them everywhere and everyone always looking for him to slip up and get caught doping again. He won't be able to dodge the doping issue just by checking himself into a depression clinic ... whatever his problem is, I would still like to see him have one last somewhat succesfull season.

He is still a Tour de France champion. I've never been a Pantani fan, but he deserves the respect of a Tour champion.

I say - good luck to Marco! :)

From CyclingNews ...

Pantani entourage tight-lipped about clinic stay
Marco Pantani's manager Davide Boifava has confirmed that the troubled Italian star has checked into a clinic in Teolo, near Padua that specializes in the treatment of depression and nervous problems, as reported on Monday. But he and other members of the Pantani organisation aren't saying why.

Boifave told La Gazzetta dello Sport that Pantani had retreated to "a place far from indiscreet glances and from all pressure to gather himself in the company of some of his friends."

Pantani's communications manager Manuela Ronchi said she did not know where the rider was, adding, "I do not know anything, but I can say that he has been very stressed with personal issues and we are not going to make any other statements."

Pantani's decision to take a holiday from the world may have something to do with his imminent court appearance on charges arising from his expulsion from the Giro d'Italia on June 5 1999 after returning a haematocrit level of over 50 percent. Pantani is due to appear on July 19 at the court of Tione near Trento.

sounds like the desperate attempt of a has been to get some much needed press...

Just like every time a celebrity on the down side of a career suddenly is truck with some mystery ailment or needs some type of counseling/ treatment for an addiction...gets their name back in the papers.

Or more probably to avoid the doping charges.

He is just sooooo boring. I would laugh at him, but he is almost too pathetic for that now.

ps. Maybe his "depression" stems from the realization that he will never be known as a great champion. And that his last stage win at the TDF was given to him.

Hell, I would even question his TDF win. Clearly he has some substantial doping allegations levelled against him. A freaking 50% hemato crit level????

LOSER!!!

I don't know-

Sometimes, when something is translated to english from another language, you don't get the exact translation. You get an approximation of what the press release was or what the person said. Somehow, I get the feeling that the explanation here has been altered a bit, and the more accurate translation about what's going on with Pantini is somewhere out there still.

Koffee

"We will never understand what goes on in his head and how he reacts every time something happens to him," said Ferdinando Pantani, who asked for his son to be left in peace during this episode. He added: "This step will help him to find a balance in his life. He’ll be the one who decides when he comes back home again. It might be a month, maybe two, and also whether he’ll return to racing or not."

Pantani senior thought his son had performed admirably this season, but noticed a change in Marco when he came back from the Giro. "We could see that each day he was getting lower and lower," Pantani senior explained. "He was knocked back when it became clear that riding the Tour with a mixed team would be impossible. He talked less and fell into a deep depression.

"Little things combined to convince him that everything was going against him, that he’d been rejected. Eventually he even admitted that he was disappointed about how he had ridden in the Giro. Nobody came forward to support him, only the fans have regretted what’s happened, but they don’t really count for anything."

From CyclingNews:

Pantani seeks solitude
Marco Pantani, who has confirmed that he is undergoing treatment for depression at a clinic in Italy, has issued an open letter pleading for privacy as he faces personal struggles. "In order to silence once and for all the rumours about my health, I want to let it be known that I am at the clinic Parco dei Tigli, in accordance with a medical staff in whom I have complete confidence," Pantani said in a written statement. "I would also like to request an end to the visits and the continuous requests for information out of respect for my private life."