Photo courtesy of Cycling Weekly

A man who attracted thousands of fans when alive, died alone in a hotel room on Valentine’s Day…a life of victory, sorrow, adoration and battle against addiction, who eventually killed the most exciting climber I ever witnessed…was it murder or an overdose…we maybe never know? The media after his death was unscrupulous, especially after making him a cycling god when things went well…no one deserve such treatment as he was a lost soul who wanted to please his fans…he surely did it for me RIP Marco (13 January 1970 – 14 February 2004)

An ode to Marco by Guido Belcanto (Belgian ballad singer and cycling fanatic) Guido has every year a sportive called the “Belcanto Classic” which attracts thousands of Velo tourists for the last 25 years