Pantani suicide claim

The chief prosecutor of the Italian town where cyclist Marco Pantani was found dead says the 1998 Tour de France winner may have committed suicide.

Franco Battaglino, the chief prosecutor of Rimini, also suggested the death may have been drug-related as he confirmed the probe into the rider's death at the age of 34 was taking a new direction.

Immediately after the post-mortem, the pathologist said he had no reason to believe suicide was a cause even though Pantani had been battling depression.

But Battaglino said: 'Within certain limits the picture the investigators are looking at has changed.

'It would not be surprising if Pantani had committed suicide either because he was in a big personal crisis or in relation to the consumption of drugs.'

Police are believed to have carried out a new search of the room in Rimini where Pantani died on Saturday. The search happened while the cyclist was being buried in his home town of Cesenatico on Wednesday.