"Celebrating my 50th birthday in the peloton? I don't know if it will happen. It's not a goal of mine, but why not, it's possible," the former professional of the former German Gerolsteiner racing team told the "Gazzetta dello Sport". Rebellin, who has been active for 25 years, recently signed a contract with the third-class Belgian team Natura4Ever-Sovac.
The former classics specialist, who won the Ardennes classics Amstel Gold Race, Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège within a week in the Gerolsteiner jersey in 2004, can look back on an eventful past. After his Olympic silver medal in Beijing in 2008, he was convicted of doping with the blood doping drug CERA after positive follow-up tests and banned for two years. He was the first Italian Olympic athlete to have to give back a medal.
To this day, the veteran professional denies any wrongdoing. "I've never encountered any reservations against me in the peloton. Most of the riders could be my children and they only say nice things," said Rebellin.
