Marco Pantani

Rome: Investigators on Sunday ordered an autopsy to determine the cause of death of former Tour de France champion Marco Pantani who was found in a hotel room in central Italy with sedatives near his bed. The cause of death of the 34-year-old rider was not immediately known but investigators ruled out violence.

Magistrate Paolo Gengarelli told reporters on Sunday that there were no illegal drugs in the room but tranquillisers were found near the body and in the kitchen section.

Pantani, who had been suffering from depression, was found dead in a hotel in the Adriatic coastal resort city of Rimini late on Saturday. Gengarelli also said Pantani had written what he called “some thoughts” on hotel stationery but it was not a farewell note.

He said the rider had effectively secluded himself in the room for five days, leaving it only for breakfast.

The Italian cycling great, who fought his way back from injury to win the Giro d’Italia and the Tour de France, was found dead in his room on Saturday night.

Staff at the hotel, ‘The Rose’, said he checked in alone several days ago, and had appeared “strange and not quite there”.

The hotel porter raised the alarm at around 9.30 pm local time after the 34-year-old Italian failed to appear. Hotel staff knocked on his door, which was locked. When they finally entered the room, Pantani was found dead, lying on his back.

Last July, Pantani was admitted to a clinic specialising in nervous disorders, drug addiction and alcoholism.

Meanwhile, another cyclist Belgian Johan Sermon has died in his sleep at the age of 21. Sermon, of the Daikin team, appeared to have died of natural causes, team manager Ernest De Vuyst said. (Agencies)