Whatever age-defying elixir of life Davide Rebellin is drinking, we want some – and so does every other aging amateur gran fondo cyclist. Just four weeks shy of his 50th birthday, Rebellin showed the world and the peloton that he still has what it takes to perform at the top level of the sport.
Racing against kids half his age at the international level UCI 2.1 Sibui Tour stage race in Romania this week he finished 10th overall after four difficult stages in the Carpathian Mountains. Rebellin kept pace with pro cycling’s best riders each day, including 2015 Vuelta a España champion Fabio Aru who finished 3rd overall. What makes his accomplishment all the more amazing is the fact that Rebellin is old enough to be the father of almost every rider in the Sibui Tour.
The winner of Liege-Bastogne-Liege 2004, of three La Flèche Wallonne (2004, 2007, 2009) and of the Amstel Gold Race 2004, Rebellin has an eternal passion for cycling that never ceases to amaze any middle-aged rider who has thrown their leg over a top-tube and ridden a gran fondo or cyclosportive.
His current professional team (he has been on 14 over 29 years) is Work Service Marchiol Vega, an Italian Continental team he joined in 2021. His last victory dates back to 6 May 2018 at 46 years-old when he won the third stage of the Tour Wilaya d’Oran in Algeria.
Without any plans to retire from the pro peloton, Rebellin will continue to race as a balding, geriatric senior citizen who is a freak of nature still living the pro cyclist dream. While his peers, including Paolo Bettini, Alessandro Ballan, Roberto Conti, Claudio Chiappucci and Fabian Cancellara, retired long ago to the gran fondo circuit, Rebellin just can’t stop racing. He loves it too much.
Without a doubt, we expect Rebellin to celebrate his 50th birthday on the bike in search of yet another win.
Buon Compleanno Davide!
PHOTOS: Work Service Marchiol Vega
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