Monaco federation finally hands down full suspension
Davide Rebellin has been suspended by the Monegasque cycling federation for two years. The 39-year-old will be able to make his comeback in April of 2011. The Italian, who lives in Monaco, has already returned the silver medal from the 2008 Olympics road race, while still maintaining his innocence.
Rebellin fought hard and even went to the CAS, the sport’s court of arbitration, but lost his case. The Monegasque cycling federation has now made official what was already clear since Rebellin lost his CAS case. He will stay suspended until next spring.
Despite his age, he seems to be planning to make a comeback to the sport and proving himself as a clean rider. Rebellin was suspended right after finishing another outstanding Ardennes week. He won the 2009 Flèche Wallonne and finished third in Liège-Bastogne-Liège four days later.
Not quite as good as his 2004 dream week, when he took victories in the Amstel Gold Race, Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège in the span of eight days. The experienced Italian started his professional career in 1995 with MG-Technogym.
He has won the Clasica San Sebastian (1997), stages in the Tour de Suisse, the Giro d’Italia (where he also wore the pink leader’s jersey) as well as the overall of the Tour Méditerranéen. Stage victories in the Tour de France and the Vuelta a España eluded him, but in the Spanish Grand Tour he collected an impressive number of second places (three alone in the 2008 Vuelta, when he did 14 stages).