Italian cyclist Davide Rebellin, who had just ended his career at 51, died in an accident, his team, Work Service Vitalcare Vega, confirmed on Wednesday. Rebellin was knocked down by a truck in Montebello Vicentino, in the province of Vicenza, various Italian media explained. According to the local daily “Il Gazzettino”, the truck left the nearby motorway ramp and knocked down the cyclist, who was riding his bike. The man at the wheel did not stop and fled, but, specifies the media, it is not yet known whether or not he realized what happened. The carabinieri are trying to reconstruct the circumstances of the accident and find the driver.
Rebellin started his professional career in 1992 with the GB-MG Boys Maglificio team. He won 61 victories during his long career, notably winning at Liège-Bastogne-Liège (2004), the Flèche wallonne (2004, 2007 and 2009), the Clasica San Sebastian (1997), the Zurich Championship ( 1997) and the Amstel Gold Race (2004) in one-day races and Paris-Nice (2008) and Tirreno-Adriatico (2001) in stage races.
