«Not a day goes by that I don’t think about him»- Corriere.it

(Almost) twenty years later Christina Jonsson returned to Cesenatico. the historical girlfriend of Marco Pantani, who died on February 14, 2004. She had met him in the winter of 1995, when she, a Danish woman, was looking for work on the Romagna Riviera and Marco was already an emerging champion in our cycling. Christina experienced the best years of the Pirate, but also the years of the dizzying fall, which then led to the death of Pantani (only 34 years old), in Rimini, in a room of the Le Rose residence, on February 14, 2004. Christina hadn’t seen Cesenatico since 2003, when she decided to take refuge in Lausanne, Switzerland: But there hasn’t been a day in which she hasn’t somehow thought of Marco, she told the Gazzetta dello Sport.

The pain for the death of Pantani

When he left us, I felt defeated and broken. Bent over by such a strong pain that I have not yet completely overcome – he continued -. It took so many years of working on me to somehow go beyond that. Until recently, I couldn’t pronounce his name and felt sick whenever I heard someone talking or talking about him. I couldn’t stand, and still can’t stand, those who speak ill of it. Every February 14, the day of the Pirate’s death, Christina organizes an art exhibition in the Lausanne school: I needed it to exorcise the pain. It was a way, the only way to keep in touch with Marco. Art helped me a lot. been my refuge. A painful memory that of the Pirate for her, but in mid-March she decided to return to Cesenatico to meet mother Tonina and father Paolo Pantani, and also Manola, Marco’s sister: it was an important step. I’ve been thinking about it for years, but I had to work a lot on myself to make it happen. I have scheduled and canceled flights many times but in the end I was really happy. It was like passing the most important exam of my life. I was afraid that nothing would be the same as before, that the city and the people might reject me and instead everything was easy, beautiful and intense. I understood, once again, why I loved Cesenatico and its people. I was impressed by the growth of the pine trees. Crazy thing. Cesenatico not only sea. much more. And then the meeting with Tonina and with Paolo and Manola. it didn’t take much for us to find the jokes, the laughs, how many laughs, from 25 years ago. Tonina had welcomed me into her house and had given me a job in the piadineria. she’s always been tough, a tough one. A Pantani. But I know she loved me.

The meeting with mother Tonina and her family

In recent years, mother Tonina, who has never abandoned her battle to ascertain the truth about Marco’s death, considered her an accomplice to that dark side of her son’s life. But time helps to get closer to her: Yes, I welcomed her like a daughter – she said to Gazzetta dello Sport
mother Pantani –. I let her know that I would like to meet her and I was happy that she returned to Cesenatico. I found her much riper, very sweet. For all of us, and especially for Paolo, it was a strong moment. We had a few laughs when I reminded her of my tirades in the piadineria, I was a bit “wild”, my screams were proverbial and she Christina remembered them well. After all, Marco resembled me in some ways. And now I hope I don’t lose sight of her. Everything that brings me back to Marco, always a strong emotion for me.

I have my own idea of ​​what happened

It was a very emotional moment for Christina to meet a woman who never stopped to find out the truth of what happened to the Pirate in that room in Rimini: And it’s good for you – added Christina -. Tonina truly a Pantani in character and tenacity. I have my clear idea of ​​what happened in Rimini in that February of 2004, but I prefer to keep it to myself. I am close to the family and I fully support their fight. In the place of mother ToninaI would do like her. Finally: The pain of her absence continues to weigh on all of us and I know very well how terrible it is for Tonina. I know because not a day goes by that I don’t think about it, and Marco wasn’t my son. However, I have made my own life journey, I have mourned without being able to undo the pain. Imagine what it can be for them. Cesenatico? The city has changed a lot, or I have changed and I see it with different eyes. But I always like it. If I close my eyes and look for a beautiful memory, I see myself at the beginning of my story with Marco in the courtyard of the apartment in Viale dei Mille, a stone’s throw from the piadineria and a stone’s throw from the sea. We were happy with nothing, we were young with big dreams. Dreams that have been shattered by a destiny that still owes me explanations. The pain was so great that it still stuck with me.