Davide REBELLIN

Becoming a pro cyclist after his first Olympics in 1992, Davide Rebellin became a top classics rider. In 1997, he won both the Clásica de San Sebastián and the GP de Suisse. In 2004, he won three classics in one week, claiming the Amstel Gold Race, Flèche Wallonne (which he also won in 2007 and 2009) and Liège-Bastogne-Liège. In addition to these performances, Rebellin has also done well in minor stage races, winning Tirreno-Adriatico (2001) and Paris-Nice (2008). His best result in a major stage race came in 1996, when Rebellin won a stage in the Giro d'Italia, also claiming the leader’s pink jersey (maglia rosa) for one day. Despite his 2004 successes, he was not selected for the Italian Olympic team, prompting him to apply for an Argentinean passport. He eventually rescinded, as the nationality change was too late to compete in that year's World Championships. Rebellin was selected for the 2008 Olympics, and was part of the leading group that decided the race, but was outsprinted by Spain's Samuel Sánchez to win a silver medal. Later that year, he also placed fourth at the World Championships. But in April 2009, after re-tests of urine samples, it was announced that traces of CERA, an EPO-like substance, had been found. Rebellin denied the charges, but his B-sample confirmed the findings, and in November 2009, he was stripped of his Olympic medal.