Davide Rebellin reveals reason behind racing professionally until 51 years of age

With a career full of ups and downs, Davide Rebellin will forever be a known name within the cycling world, as he carried on a 30-year long career in a period of time where no-one came even close. The Italian veteran retired only now in 2022, after making his debut in 1992, and he's revealed the reason why now was the time to spot.

“I kept on racing for so many years partly because of that ban that I had from the Olympic Games, where I was out for two years,” Rebellin said in an interview with Cyclingnews. “I wanted to come back, and I was hoping to race for a big team and do the Classics, and maybe end my career by winning another big race like Flèche or Liège.

Rebellin reached the height of his career in 2004 when he won all three Ardennes classics - Amstel Gold Race, Flèche Wallone and Liége-Bastogne-Liège. Some years later he went through another career height with a silver medal in the 2008 Olympic Games Road Race, but all was to be turned upside down soon after as he tested positive for CERA, had his recent results, including the medal, stripped, and was given a two-year suspension. He never again returned to the World Tour, but he raced on for another decade in teams of smaller level.

“But after my suspension, I had a lot of doors closed in my face by teams. I couldn’t get back into a big team and that was maybe also why I extended my career. I wasn’t able to go out in a big team, but I kept on going," he explained. “Above all, I was hoping to be readmitted, to find the door still open, but that wasn’t the case, be it from some organisers or some team managers. They all knew my value as an athlete, but I had this thing from the Olympics that closed the doors a bit. But I wouldn’t know how to explain it.”

Back in the peloton in the peloton in 2011 with the Miche - Guerciotti team, Rebellin would begin a new phase in his career, marked by many transfers, racing at Pro Team and Continental level, with several wins included, and a career that grew larger and more popular as the year went by. “Even if I was on very small – and, in a certain sense, humiliating – teams, they did everything with a lot of heart, and that was beautiful,” he admitted.

“And they brought me to places I might never have visited, like Iran and Africa. That was fun," Rebellin revealed, justifying furthermore his decision to remain in the peloton throughout the 2010's and early 2020's, even when he was far from the level that had seen him rise to the spotlight.

As for the reason why he kept professional cycling until his 51 years of age, the answer is rather simple: "I didn’t keep going until 51 to set some kind of record. I did it because I felt like doing it. But now I think the right moment has come to stop.”

Still, despite leaving the professional peloton, Rebellin will remain in the cycling bubble. He'll continue racing gravel events in Italy, which alongside his position as an ambassador for bike brand Dynatek, and role within amateur training camps will see him still around.