The night of November 6th was a sad night for one of the symbols of the memory of the late Marco Pantani. A yellow jersey from Pantani's 1998 Tour de France victory that had originally been donated to the Museo del Ghisallo by the family of the late Italian was on loan for the International Bicycle and Motorcycle Show in Milan, EICMA, where it was on display as part of an exhibition for Fiorenzo Magni, titled Fiorenzo il MAGNIfico, the original Lion of Flanders.
The jersey was displayed in a showcase and was stolen heading into the final day of the EICMA.
IlGiorno.it relays the appeal from the Ghisallo museum: "We hope that the jersey will be found. Please, anyone with useful information that could lead to the finding of the jersey, get in touch with the museum."
Marco Pantani's 1998 season was the stuff of legends - a dominant victory in the Giro d'Italia was followed soon after with a stunning Alpine assault in the Tour de France, which led to his second consecutive Grand Tour victory in the 1998 season.
It was the pinnacle of the career of the climbing great. The 1999 Giro d'Italia would signal the beginning of the end, when the rider, who had dominated the race from start to almost the end, was pulled from the Giro on the penultimate day due to an overly high hematocrit. There would be sparks of greatness in the years to come, but the Tour de France Maillot Jaune was his crowning achievement and a symbol of a career marked by greatness and a tragic end.