Marco Pantani, the Italian cycling great who fought his way back from injury to win the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France, was found dead in a hotel room in central Italy on Saturday night, the hotel manager said.

The news of the death of the 34-year-old Pantani, who was called 'The Pirate' because of his trademark shaved head and bandana but was tainted by doping accusations later in his career, shocked the Italian sports world.

"This is a tragedy of enormous proportions for the whole cycling world," said Mario Cipollini, winner of the 2002 world road race championship. "I can't find the words."

The cause of death was not immediately known but it appeared that no violence was involved. Italian news agency Ansa said police had found medicines in the room.

Pantani, who had been suffering from depression, was found dead in a hotel in the Adriatic coastal resort city of Rimini, made famous by the late director Federico Fellini, who used it as a setting for some of his most famous films.

Pantani, a fine climber, won both the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France in 1998. He was the first Italian to win the Tour de France since Felice Gimondi in 1965.

The last years of his life were spent in legal battles fighting to see doping bans overturned.

High price

"He paid a very high price. For four years he was at the centre of a storm," said Gimondi, who was Pantani's manager for two years.

Pantani was the subject of a major scandal in 1999 when he was thrown out of the tour of Italy. Leading the race, he failed a test for haematocrit - an indicator, though not proof, of the use of performance-enhancing drugs.

He was also banned in 2002 for using insulin during the previous year's Giro. Pantani rode in the 2003 Giro, finishing a disappointing 14th, and was later treated in a drugs and depression clinic.

Pantani's team, Mercatone Uno, were not invited to take part in the centenary Tour de France last year.

Pantani, who was born in the same central coastal region where he died, made his professional debut in 1992 and shot to fame three years later by daring to attack the great Miguel Indurain of Spain in the mountains of the Giro d'Italia and the Tour de France.

He also took bronze at the world championships after recovering from the fall.

The same year, he shattered his left tibula and fibia in a crash after being hit by a jeep and injured his collarbone, wrist, arms, foot and ribs as well as suffering from concussion and a dislocated shoulder.

He made his first comeback in 1997 but three months later he returned to hospital after a crash caused by a cat running across his path during the Giro, leaving him badly bruised.

Starting from scratch once again, the next year he won both of the world's cycling classics - the Giro and the Tour.

His troubles began again in 1999 when he was disqualified while leading the Giro after failing the haematocrit test.

In 2000, he was found guilty of 'sporting fraud' after tests showed use of illegal performance-enhancing products. He was fined and banned from competing for six months.

During the 2001 Giro, Italian drugs police raided riders' hotel rooms, confiscating illegal substances.

Investigation to be held into Pantani's death

An autopsy will take place today to determine the cause of death of former Tour de France winner Marco Pantani.

Magistrate Paolo Gengarelli told reporters yesterday that there were no illegal drugs in the room when Pantani's body was discovered on Saturday night but tranquillisers were found near the body and in the kitchen section.

Pantani was found by a member of staff at the hotel in Rimini on the floor of his room near the bed, naked from waist up.

Gengarelli also said Pantani, who had been treated at a clinic recently for depression, had written "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 and left it only for breakfast.

Later in the day, Gengarelli said he believed that Pantani did not commit suicide.

The death of Pantani, who was nicknamed 'The Pirate', stunned the sporting world.

The headline in the Italian sports daily Gazzetta dello Sport said it all: "Lost Hero, We Adored You".

Former Italian World Cup ski champion Alberto Tomba said Pantani had been abandoned.

"It's a real tragedy. For champions it is too easy to go from being loved and exalted to being hated. I think Pantani found himself alone at the precise moment that he was in the most need," Tomba said.

Spain's five-times Tour de France winner Miguel Indurain described Pantani as a "tragic genius".

"Apart from his undeniable quality as a rider, he got people hooked on the sport," Indurain said of the specialist climber in the Spanish sports daily Marca.

"There may be riders who have achieved more than him, but they never succeeded in drawing in the fans like he did."