Pantani could be attention-seeking, but never brash ‘ even in the flamboyant guise of Il Pirata, with earring and bandana, there was an awkwardness about Pantani Even at his swashbuckling pomp, he would rarely look you in the eye He was the actor who needed to assume a role before he could express himself ‘ or not himself, but the character he was pretending to be, the guise he was hiding behind