Pantani reigns at Tour de France

PARIS, Aug 2: Marco Pantani won the most controversial Tour de France in history today to become its first Italian champion in 33 years.A...

PARIS, Aug 2: Marco Pantani won the most controversial Tour de France in history today to become its first Italian champion in 33 years.

At the end of a race brought to the brink of collapse by a doping scandal, the 28-year-old recovered from a puncture to finish the final stage with his lead of three minutes 21 seconds over last year’s winner, Jan Ullrich of Germany, intact.

The sprint finish along the Champs-Elysees was won by Belgian Tom Steels for his fourth stage win of the tour. American Bobby Julich was third overall.

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But three weeks of riding covering 3,711 kms has left a bitter taste as Pantani’s victory was overshadowed by one of the worst drug scandals in the history of sport.

Only 96 riders, about half the starting line-up, finished the Tour. Pantani, also known as "Il Pirata" (The Pirate) is the first genuine climber to win the race since Belgian Lucien Van Impe in 1976.

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