It was October 18, 1995. Marco Pantani was taking part in the classic Milan-Turin, one of the last events of an uphill season for the champion from Romagna who, despite the accident which occurred in the spring, had been able to fight practically alone against the Spaniards during the World Championships in Colombia and seemed like the young promise meant to take the place of Miguel Indurain, Gianni Bugno and Claudio Chiappucci in the hearts of the fans.

That day, Pantani found an obstacle along the way to his accolade. At the bottom of the descent from Pino Torinese, a small town in the mountains of Turin, the cyclist, who was speeding at 80 km/h, found himself faced with a car whose driver had ignored the organizers' instructions. The impact was inevitable: Marco tried to get up but failed and was rushed to the CTO hospital. The diagnosis left all cycling enthusiasts dismayed: fracture of the tibia and fibula, with the serious risk of losing the use of the limb or, in any case, premature interruption of competitive activity.

Pantani didn't give up and showed the same determination he used to show in the tiring climbs of the Giro d'Italia and the Tour de France. Just 5 months and 5 days after that terrible accident, he was back in the saddle. He was ready to restart. However, the Carrera team did not renew his contract. It was Luciano Pezzi, former wingman of Fausto Coppi and sporting director of Felice Gimondi, who believed in him and invited him to race for Mercatone Uno, a small team from Romagna that was built specifically for the young champion.

Never was a bet more successful and, with the yellow jersey of Mercatone Uno, the athlete from Romagna wrote some of the most exciting pages in cycling. The Pirate, as he was later called, became one of the symbols of this sport. The turning point was 1997, along with a team and wingmen who believed in his return. In 1998, Pantani managed to win the Giro d'Italia and the Tour de France in the same year, a feat that only six legends had managed before (Fausto Coppi, Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault, Stephen Roche, Miguel Indurain ).

The yellow jersey of the Mercatone Uno team and the ever-present bandana are among the best-known symbols of the Pirate's rebirth. But there was also a bicycle that started this new sprint, the aluminum Easton Elite 7005 made by the Wilier Triestina company in 1997. This memorabilia, witness of the courageous return on the saddle of one of the greatest talents of Italian and world cycling , will be sold by Aste Bolaffi during the Sports Memorabilia auction on 12 December 2023 (lot 75), starting from a starting price of € 15,000.