Lance Armstrong has been invited to the Marco Pantani memorial Gran Fondo ride to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Pantani's Giro d'Italia-Tour de France double victory and perhaps reconcile with Pantani's family.
According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, Alberto Contador, Jan Ullrich, Pavel Tonkov and Miguel Indurain have also been invited to take part in a 'Champions Ride' on the day before the Gran Fondo, with the organisers also hoping Bradley Wiggins will ride.
Armstrong and Pantani often clashed in races and via the media but, according to La Gazzetta dello Sport, Pantani's mother is now keen to meet Armstrong, with the Gran Fondo suggested as the right place for reconciliation.
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Armstrong was gradually returning to racing from testicular cancer when Pantani won the Giro-Tour double in 1998, and the Texan then won the 1999 Tour de France as Pantani was fighting to clear his name following his disqualification from that year's Giro for returning a high haematocrit in a blood test on the penultimate day. In 2000, the two clashed at the Tour and fell out very publicly after Armstrong apparently eased up to let Pantani win on Mount Ventoux.
Their different characters and backgrounds, as well as the lack of a common language, meant that their feud was never resolved before Pantani died from a cocaine overdose in 2004.
Armstrong was banned for life after an investigation by the United States Anti-Doping Agency and so cannot attend UCI races in an official capacity. He has been invited to speak at a pre-Tour of Flanders event this spring and is likely be at the race as a guest despite a protest from new UCI president David Lappartient.
Basso, Ullrich, Contador and Cipollini also invited
You can read more at Cyclingnews.com
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