There is some kind of a soft spot in many cycling fans hearts for all things Mercatone Uno related. And it is not hard to find out why. The team was pretty successful, off course, but what makes it truly iconic is the figure of Marco Pantani. It was he who attracted great crowds, previously untouched by this great and cruel sport. His story has often been told and we will not try to repeat it. If you are not familiar with his life, we recommend you watch the documentary "Pantani: The Accidental Death of a Cyclist"
When Pantani, il Pirata, won the double of the Giro d'Italia and the Tour de France in 1998, he was the first Italian to achieve this triumph after Fausto Coppi almost 50 years before. And like Fausto Coppi, he did so on his Bianchi.

Bianchi offered some models in team paint schemes, just like our M Alloy Mega Pro Reparto Corse road bike. It stems from early 2000s and as the name suggest, it belongs to the "Mega Pro" family with oversized and profiled tubes. In this case they are made of 7000 heat treated aluminium alloy and are TIG welded together. In the front is mounted the Bianchi L Carbon fork.

But our piece is different to many others out there. It is in astonishingly good condition and when you take a closer look, you will see practically brand new components and paintjob in top shape. The bike has been ridden, but just very shortly. Speaking of the parts, it is equipped with Campagnolo Centaur 10-speed groupset with Ergopower shifters on the bars. The rims which don't show any signs of braking whatsoever are from Fir (sporting little Martini stickers) and the ITM Big One stem actually is NOS and the saddle is Bianchi branded.

A sweet bike to ride and to look at which is certainly not just for Marco Pantani fans, but for all who want to enjoy a classic road bike without any compromises.