Italian cyclist Marco Pantani, who won both the Giro d’Italia and the Tour de France in 1998 and was one of the greatest climbers the sport of cycling ever saw—although not the most gracious competitor—has been found dead in a hotel room in Rimini.

UPDATE: VeloNews has more information: Pantani found dead in Italian hotel.

Former Tour de France winner Marco Pantani was found dead Saturday in the Italian seaside resort of Rimini, according to reports from the Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport and the ANSA news agency.

Pantani’s body was found on the floor near to his bed in “The Roses” hotel on the Adriatic coast, ANSA reported. The news agency reported it was not a violent death; medication was found in the fifth-floor room, but it was not immediately known if it had played any role in Pantani’s death. An investigating magistrate and a doctor were in attendance at the hotel just after midnight local time as police stood guard at all the doors to the building.

Staff at the hotel said Pantani checked in alone several days ago, and had appeared “strange and not quite there.” The hotel porter raised the alarm at around 9.30 p.m. local time on Saturday after the 34-year-old Italian failed to appear. Hotel staff knocked on his door, which was locked. When they finally entered the room, Pantani was found dead, lying on his back, ANSA reported.