Sandro Donati

A huge doping scandal erupted at the 2001 cross-country skiing world championship in Lahti, Finland, leading to large numbers of disqualifications. Athletes from the host country in particular had made generous use of illegal performance-enhancing drugs. It was to be the precursor of more drug cases at the Winter Olympics a year later in Salt Lake City. When Heroes Lie analyzes the history of doping from the 1970s to the present day, using archive footage and interviews with skiers, coaches and experts.

In 1998 Marco Pantani, the most flamboyant and popular cyclist of his era, won both the Tour de France and Giro d'Italia, a titanic feat of physical and mental endurance that no rider has repeated since. He was a hero to millions, the saviour of cycling following the doping scandals which threatened to destroy the sport. However, less than six years later, aged just 34, he died alone, in a cheap hotel room, from acute cocaine poisoning. He had been an addict for five years. This is the story of the tragic battles fought by the most important Italian cyclist of his generation; man verses mountain, athlete verses addiction, Marco Pantani verses himself.