BIANCHI Titanio Reparto Corse (labeled as XL EV2)- Pantani TdF (Mercatone Uno 2000) – SOLD

Marco Pantani (13 January 1970 – 14 February 2004) widely considered as one of the best climbers of his era in professional road bicycle racing. He won both the Giro d’Italia and the Tour de France and in 1998, is the last cyclist, and one of only seven, to win the Giro and the Tour in the same year. Pantani’s attacking style and aggressive riding turned him into a fan favorite in the late 1990s. He was known as “Il Pirata” (“The pirate”) because of his shaved head and the bandana and earrings he always wore.  At 1.72 m and 57 kg, he had the classic build for a mountain climber.

Bianchi’s Reparto Corse (Bianchi’s Race Department) facility hand built frames for their top riders and of course Marco Pantani was one of them riding for Mercatone Uno sponsored by Bianchi. Their top model  XL EV2 Reparto Corse is made of lightweight triple-butted alloy shaped  tubeset. Aluminum was the material of choice back then, even his biggets rival Lance Armstrong rode full carbon Trek 5500 that season. But some riders were not happy with super light aluminium frames. Stefano Garzelli won the Giro 2000 on Bianchi Titanio – labeled as XL EV2. Titanium frames were a bit heavier, but much stiffer. It’s not a secret that Pantani has aluminium and titanium pink bikes ready. Not sure if Pantani used titanium bikes at the Tour 2000.  For mountain stages he chose aluminium XLEV2.

The whole bike looks amazing, from the Tour de France edition paint, from superb and beautiful combination of polished /carbon Campagnolo Record 10s groupset, Campagnolo Nucleon wheelset, Campagnolo Record Titanium seatpost, Pantani’s personalized Selle Italia Flite saddle, Time Equipe Mag pedals, ITM Millenium stem and handlebar to titanium bottle cage.

We know we will get a lot of comments and questions about it so here are some facts:

• We were lucky enough to get Marco’s bike fitting measurments so it’s possible this bike was made for Marco Pantani.
• We can’t /don’t want to claim that Pantani rode this bike at the Tour de France 2000, but the fact is that the compoments are exactly the same. With the proof the price would be 50.000€.

Unique chance for all Pantani fans to get this extraordinary piece for a reasonable price.

Frame / Fork: Bianchi Titanio Reparto Corse (labeled as XL EV2) Mercatone Uno TdF 2000

Size:

– seat tube (c-t): 53.3 cm

– top tube (c-c): 53.5 cm

– headset tube: 11 cm

– standover: 77 cm

Wheelset: Campagnolo Nucleon

Crankset: Campagnolo Record 10s (170mm 53/39)

Rear Derailleur: Campagnolo Record 10s

Front Derailleur: Campagnolo Record 10s

Levers: Campagnolo Record 10s

Brakes: Campagnolo Record 10s

Cassette: Campagnolo Record 10s (23/11)

Pedals: Time Equipe Mag

Stem: ITM Millenium 110mm

Handlebar: ITM Millenium Ergal 7075

Seatpost: Campagnolo Record Titanium (27,2mm)

Seat: Selle Italia Flite ”Il Pirata”

Bottle cage: titanium

Year: 2000

Condition: Used, but excellent condition. No cracks, no dents, not bent. All parts are working fine.

Price: SOLD (April 2023)