The Giro d'Italia was scheduled to finish today at Cesenatico. It was also to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Novi Colli Gran Fondo event and to remember Marco Pantani during the Corsa Rosa in May. Pantani started cycling with the Cesenatico Fausto Coppi cycling team, and the same volunteers organized what is widely known as the first and still the best Italian Gran Fondo event.

The Giro d'Italia has been postponed until October due to the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak, and the 50th edition of the Novi Colli will be held on May 23, 2021; if the COVID-19 virus outbreak is contained and the Giro d'Italia is held, the race will be held on October 15 It will take over the Cesenatico and run the route of the Novi Colli, deep in the Romagna hills, no doubt to celebrate Pantani's victory in the Giro d'Italia and to remind him of his natural climbing ability developed on the rugged country roads.

Despite Pantani's tragic death, and the widely held belief that he, like many of his contemporaries, used EPO during his working years, Italy celebrates Pantani every May during the Giro d'Italia, and he died alone in a hotel room near Rimini in 2004 After his death in 2004 in a hotel room near Rimini, his death is mourned every year on St. Valentine's Day.

He represented his generation in every way, but people quickly forget his Icarus-like fall from drugs and depression, preferring to remember the emotion of his victories and his daring attacks in the high mountains of the Grand Tour.

In his prime, Pantani captured the hearts of millions of Italians. His duel with Lance Armstrong, his mountain attacks with his hand on the drop, and his victories at the 1998 Giro d'Italia and Tour de France. They identified with him because of his mix of shyness, toughness, and love of life.

Every Italian who watched and loved cycling in the 90s has personal memories of Pantani, but Andrea Agostini has more than any other.

He grew up with Pantani in Cesenatico and raced with him in his youth. Later, Agostini became press officer for Mercatone Uno, a company Pantani trusted, and tried to protect his friend during the last, troubled years of his life.

Agostini is now involved in the Novi Colli organization and is the chief operating officer of the UAE Team Emirates team. He was diagnosed with COVID-19 in February and quarantined in the UAE, but is now back in Italy; May 21 should have been a day to celebrate cycling. Instead, it will be a day of reflection and remembrance, hoping for better times.

In a special video interview with inCycle TV on the 10th anniversary of Pantani's death in 2014, Agostini talks intimately about his boyhood friend and how his homecoming to Cesenatico changed him. The video also interviews his former rival Giuseppe Guerrini, who admits that Pantani's dominance led him to leave the Italian team for the German Telecom team.

"I remember when we were 12 or 13 years old, he could climb the most difficult [mountains] here and he was absolutely the best," Agostini told inCycle TV, once owned by the Pantani family and the center of much of his cycling success He spoke outside the Flatbread Sandwich Bar.

Agostini reflects on how age and success have changed Pantani.

"He changed when he left this city," he explained. He was a superstar on the road, but when he came back here, he was the simple Marco again. He had two faces. He wore a mask. It was strange to see this double life."