Davide Rebellin died at the age of 51 after he was struck by a truck while training near Vicenza on Wednesday morning.
According to the local newspaper Il Gazzettino, Rebellin was killed instantly in the incident, which took place at Montebello Vicentino shortly before midday. Il Gazzettino reported that the driver did not stop at the scene of the tragedy, though it is unclear if they were aware of the impact.
Police are working to reconstruct the incident and seeking to trace the driver.
Rebellin had recently brought the curtain down on his lengthy professional career at the Veneto Classic, where he was feted before his home crowds at the finish in Bassano del Grappa last month.
A native of San Bonifacio, near Verona, Rebellin turned professional immediately after competing for Italy at the Barcelona Olympics in 1992. He went on to spend 30 years in the peloton, with victories including Liège-Bastogne-Liège, Flèche Wallonne, Amstel Gold Race, Tirreno-Adriatico, Paris-Nice, Clásica San Sebastián and Züri-Metzgete. He also wore the maglia rosa for five days on the 1996 Giro d’Italia, where he finished sixth overall.
Rebellin later became the first Italian athlete to be stripped of an Olympic medal when he tested positive for CERA at the Beijing 2008 Games.
He returned to the pro peloton in 2011, and although the doors of the WorldTour remained closed for the remainder of his career, he continued racing for teams including CCC, Meridiana-Kamen and Kuwait–Cartucho before bringing the curtain down on his racing days with Italian Continental outfit Work Service.
Rebellin competed in the Italian jersey at the inaugural UCI Gravel World Championships in October, and he had signalled his intention to continue competing in gravel events after the end of his road racing career.
Italian national coach Daniele Bennati spoke for many when he responded to the tragedy in a post on social media on Wednesday afternoon: “Tell me it isn’t true.”
