Italian police have launched a new murder investigation after new documentary evidence submitted by Tonina, Marco Pantani's mother, raised doubts about the final hours of Marco Pantani's death.

Confidential evidence presented to a congressional committee by the drug dealer who sold Pantani the last of the cocaine also bogged things down and led Tonina Pantani to again call for further investigation.

Never one to admit that her son died from a deadly cocktail of cocaine and antidepressants, Tonina recently hired a new lawyer, spoke with Rimini police, and gave them a 51-page document with information about her son's last days in Rimini in 2004.

"I went through all the stories. I am convinced that all the truth about Marco's death has not yet been revealed, about what happened at the hotel in the hours and days before his death," Pantani's mother told the Quotidiano Nazionale news network.

Pantani was the last rider to win both the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France in the same year, in 1998. He was later disqualified from the 1999 Giro d'Italia due to a high hematocrit level in his blood; he died on February 14, 2004. An initial police investigation led to Pantani serving several prison sentences for drug trafficking, resulting in his death; a second investigation was launched in 2014, but ended with the conclusion that the new allegations raised by Pantani's family were based on "creative speculation."

However, his mother's refusal to accept that her son died of a cocaine overdose, and the Italian media's willingness to report but not investigate conspiracy theories and fuel Pantani's mythic status, make the tragic death of "Il Pirata" makes understanding it more difficult than ever.

The Italian police have now begun investigating a third murder, studying documents provided by Tonina Pantani, looking back at evidence from the previous two investigations, and studying secret evidence provided by drug dealer Fabio Miradossa to the Italian parliamentary investigation. He has so far been unable to corroborate the claim that Pantani was murdered, but told Tonina Pantani on a television program to follow the whereabouts of 20,000 euros that allegedly disappeared from his room at the "Le Rose" Residence in Rimini.

According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, the investigation was about to be shut down until Tonina Pantani and her new lawyer filed 51 pages of documents.

The Italian sports newspaper again highlighted the cocaine ball found near Pantani's body, the arm and facial injuries allegedly unrelated to the fall, and other doubts about the original investigation.

La Gazzetta dello Sport also claimed that Pantani spent the night of February 13 with others at a different hotel, raising further questions about the last hours of his life.

"Tonina wants to investigate one last time whether her son died from a mixture of cocaine and antidepressants or if there were other reasons," new attorney Fiorenzo Alessi told La Gazzetta dello Sport.

"Our goal is to put their minds at ease and to hear some form of final word on Pantani's death. It is painful to see new facts come to light after so many years, but the police are investigating and I am confident they will do so methodically. Whatever verdict is handed down, we intend to accept it."