Mercatone Uno president Romano Cenni has hired a lawyer in an attempt to see the late Marco Pantani awarded the 1999 Giro d’Italia on the basis of 15 year old claims that there were irregularities in the testing when Pantani was forced out of the race while leading on the penultimate day due to a high haematocrit level.

Pantani had the best years of his career at the team and won the giro-Tour double in 1998, the last man to do so. His last year in the peloton, 2003, was the company’s last in cycling too.

"I can't say if it was a conspiracy, an error or something else, but what I am certain of is that new elements are emerging which show that the decision taken against Marco Pantani and the Mercatone Uno team should be modified and revised," lawyer Marco Baroncini told mediaset.it.

"Mercatone Uno and, in particular, its president Romano Cenni, just want for Pantani to be given what was taken unjustly from him and the team."

Pantani was almost six minutes clear of second place when he registered a haematocrit level of 52% on the penultimate morning of the race at Madonna di Campiglio. This forced Pantani to take a two-week break from cycling so as to meet with regulations back then.

Back then there was no test for EPO so riders who recorded a haematocrit of over 50% had to stop racing for a fortnight in order to let their blood levels go back below the limit.

Ivan Gotti overtook Paolo Savoldelli on the slopes of the steep Mortorolo climb to take the pink jersey and with it, his second Giro triumph after winning in 1997. But his win was overshadowed by what had happened to Pantani, who many believe was the 199 Giro’s rightful winner.

Gotti spoke to La Gazzetta dello Sport on Wednesday and said that if the race were to be given to Pantani, who died in 2004, he would not feel aggrieved in the slightest.

"Re-writing history isn't a problem relative to what happened to poor Marco," Gotti said. "If they were to award him that Giro, I wouldn't feel deprived of something. I'm prepared to give it up."

Baroncini wants the 1999 Giro’s Gneral Classification to be reset to the way it was after stage 20 to Madonna di Campiglio, with Pantani leading Savoldelli by 5:38 and Gotti by 6:12. He says a recent rallying event in Italy served as a precedent when the final three laps had to be ignored due tacks being placed on the road to deliberately cause punctures.

A French Senate report last year revealed that a urine sample provided by Pantani during the 1998 Tour de France had been re-tested and shown traces of EPO, but then UCI president Pat McQuaid confirmed that the results of the race would not be altered retroactively. Along with second-placed Jan Ullrich, Pantani was one of 18 riders whose re-tested samples showed traces of EPO, while a further 12 were deemed to be "suspicious."

Magistrates have recently announced that they will re-examine both the 1999 Haematocrit test and his death in 2004, which many believe to be murder, rather than a cocaine overdose.

A magistrate in Forli has already re-opened the enquiry into the 1999 disqualification after an old allegation resurfaced that he was disqualified due the influence of an illegal gambling ring, something that was again announced 15 years before, in a book by career criminal Renato Vallanzasca.