Its almost unexplainable.. There are some people you come across in life, in person, or through sport, etc, that you are just drawn too.. Pantani had that..
wether it was attitude, or personality, or style on a bike, or what i dont know.. There was just something about the guy that drew you in and you couldnt help yourself. He had an aura..
I cant even explain why he is such a legend, but he is..
good article here> http://le-grimpeur.net/blog/archives/11
"His exploits between 1994 and 2000 were sensational. He climbed like a man possessed, throwing races into chaos with his attacking style, and eschewing conservatism to attack on the most difficult of climbs with reckless aggression."
"For fans who love cycling, it is hard not to be inspired, even moved, by Pantani’s climbing exploits: the reckless attacks, the total domination of the toughest climbs. He personified the excitement of the mountains."
"Pantani’s dalliances with performance-enhancing drugs is likely not a unique case, as past and future revelations of doping in cycling in the 1990s will attest. His story, though, his tragedy seems unique: soaring to the highest levels of the sport, before crashing into despair, abandonment, and ultimately suicide. Did he make a Faustian pact, with Mephistopheles played by EPO, crooked doctors, and the pressure of professional competition? (Is Pantani the Dorian Gray of cycling?) Was the reward for his bargain the tremendous climbing power he attained, but at a heavy price?
But Pantani was seemingly conscious of his bargain and one of his reported quotes nicely sums up his own approach, as well as the issues raised earlier about performance enhancement. “In cycling,” he said, “there is not a culture of doping, but rather a culture of champions, meaning: self improvement. That means doing things that are forbidden, but that are only forbidden if they catch you.”"