Eddy Merckx on the topic of Marco Pantani,
“They treated him as a criminal, but he never killed anyone. And this is what has bothered me the most of the story of Marco Pantani. They have given him an altogether improper image.” And then “even this is an injustice, to speak of a relationship between Pantani and doping: he had the means and the way to win without doping, that is in a contest made in a certain way. Oh, if only he could have kept his feet on the ground”
“They treated him as a criminal, but he never killed anyone. And this is what has bothered me the most of the story of Marco Pantani. They have given him an altogether improper image.” And then “even this is an injustice, to speak of a relationship between Pantani and doping: he had the means and the way to win without doping, that is in a contest made in a certain way. Oh, if only he could have kept his feet on the ground”