03/02/2023

"The roads are not safe anymore to ride the bike"- Davide Formolo urges Italian Government to take measueres about cyclist's safety on aftermath of Rebellin's death

Davide Formolo as many of the now professional Italian cyclists of his generation, were inspired by Davide Rebellin. Rebellin raced even into his 30s as a professional, he acquired the status of a mythical figure who inspired thousands of younger riders and the UAE Team Emirates rider was one of them.

"In cycling, he was a hero for the Italian people. I started to watch when he was on TV when I was a kid riding my bike for the first time. Then I became his friend, and his death was a real shock for me”, Formolo said to VeloNews.

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The Italian cyclist who has a profile a bit similar to the one Rebellin had in particular to the 1-day races with difficult climbs reveled that he organized a local memorial for Rebellin on the roads above Monaco.

“It’s a nice gesture I felt from my heart to do. All the riders who are living around there, they are happy to go there and put something on the wheel to remember him while he was on this earth. Davide deserves to have something in his honor. I am sure Davide will appreciate it if anyone who passes there leaves something for him. It’s a way to pay respect to him as a rider and as a human”, Formolo reveled.

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The Italian also talked about the road safety in Italy. The impact of Davide Rebellin death, specially happening a few months after his very long professional career retirement made shockwaves in Italy. Since it's not the first Italian cyclist legend that is very well respected that dies on the road due to a car an accident with a car while riding his bike. Michele Scarponi case has similarities with this one and Formolo urges the government to take measures about riders road safety.

“Every day a lot of people are dying on the bike. The roads are not safe anymore to ride the bike. There are too many cars on the road, much more than 20 or 50 years ago, and the roads are still the same. The government should do something.“Everyone is talking about global warming, and cycling is a good solution to this problem, but it is too dangerous. We need to ask for more respect from the motorists and something for the cyclists from the government.”, he said.