What year of the tour that Pantani dropped out after a climb against Lance? Was it due to hemocrit, I can not remember. Was it the climb that Lance said he wish He did not let Marco win? Not Mont Ventoux? Marco won the next day in 2000. Right…Thanks Kenney
In the 2000 Tour, Armstrong is alleged to have gifted the stage to Mt. Ventoux (stage 12) to Pantani. There was some verbal jousting between the two of them after that. In stage 16, Pantani attacked early in one of those five climb days and later blew up. This was the day of Armstrong’s famous bonk that lost him some time relative to Ullrich. Virenque won the stage and Pantani dropped out.
Pantani’s hematocrit problem was at the start of the second last stage of the 1999 Giro and he was kicked out of that race under the old 15 day suspension for the benefit of his own health. After his drug use was exposed then, he had mental problems for the rest of his career. In fact, I think the 2000 Tour stage may have been his only victory after the 1999 Giro.