In February 2004, 20,000 mourners lined the streets to pay their respects at the funeral of superstar cyclist, Marco Pantani.

In November 2021, a new inquiry into Pantani’s death was announced - this time investigating the theory that the Italian mafia might have been involved in his murder.

But in episode one, it’s 1990, and promising amateur Marco Pantani is just beginning to make his mark… With the help of Marco’s biographer, Matt Rendell, we meet the man behind the legend.

New episodes released Thursday. If you’re in the UK, listen to the full series of Sport’s Strangest Crimes - first on BBC Sounds - bbc.in/3PbXQxv

Narrated by Hugh Dennis, with the voices of Iain Ferrier and Helen Roper

Sound design: Rich Evans

Writer and producer: Katie Sayer