A day that seemed to slip away distracted, enclosed in the apparent normality of the gray of the end of November. Instead, in an instant, the world of those who love cycling turned upside down, terrible news began bouncing on all phones and PCs, leaving us petrified: Davide Rebellin died .

Still in disbelief, we find the courage to recover, but then we discover that it's all true. Rebellin died while he was training on his bicycle, hit by a truck near the town of Montebello Vicentino . According to local media, the tragedy occurred just before lunchtime and,   from the first reconstructions, the truck would have exited a motorway junction, hitting Rebellin and moving away without stopping to provide assistance. It is not clear whether the truck driver, now wanted by the police, noticed or not what happened. The rescuers, who arrived on the spot, were unable to do anything except ascertain Rebellin's death.  

Only on 16 October last, the champion from San Bonifacio had finished his thirty-year career racing the Veneto Classic and had spent his life always dedicated to the love of cycling.

Huge talent, Davide won everything and everywhere from an early age. As a professional he won three Frecce Wallonne, one Liège-Bastogne-Liège, one Amstel Gold Race and about sixty other high-level races . Among his achievements also (and unfortunately) the first Olympic medal (silver in Beijing 2008) revoked for doping in the history of the blue, for a positivity (at Epo-Cera) sanctioned in sports but not in criminal law, with him having always proudly denied any wrongdoing.

A multifaceted character, he was an entrepreneur, coach and much more: he changed 13 teams in 29 seasons. Blockbuster teams like Mg, Polti, Francaise des Jeux, Liquigas or Gerolsteiner, national teams like Polsat and Androni , teams that are difficult to classify and sometimes unclassifiable and ephemeral like Meridiana, Kuwait, Cambodia (Cambodian team) and Sovac. In recent years he had settled in his native Veneto, with Work Service, a micro team that seeks invitations to second-rate tenders: Slovenia, Romania, Algeria, Tunisia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates and Malaysia.

But he never gave up and to those who asked him why he didn't hang up his bike, he replied: "Because I like racing". And we perceived and breathed this passion the evening when Davide Rebellin was a guest of the Fantacycling lounge on YouTube : there he made us smile and many within our community appreciated his availability and spontaneity. Today, however, we find ourselves here mourning him without understanding why. Like a bad dream, we relive the day about 5 years ago, in which another great Michele Scarponi was killed, again for the same reason, in a road accident during training. Then we will never tire of supporting the initiatives of the Michele Scarponi foundation, to ensure that the roads are safer for cyclists. Today, however, we discover that this is still not the case and we find ourselves without another piece of heart to say goodbye to another champion who is leaving.

Hi David, we will miss you.