Pantani became the first Italian since Felice Gimondi in 1965 to win the Tour, the seventh rider in history to achieve the Giro-Tour double and he was awarded the Velo d'Or as the best rider of 1998.
Pantani became the first Italian since Felice Gimondi in 1965 to win the Tour and the seventh rider in history to achieve the Giro-Tour double, that no one had attempted since Miguel Indursin failed in 1994. He was awarded the Velo d'Or as the best rider of 1998.