Cycling: Rebellin 'must give medal back'
CAS rules agst Beijing silver medallist
30 July, 17:31
(ANSA) - Lausanne, July 30 - Davide Rebellin must return his
silver medal from the 2008 Olympics, world sport's top tribunal
ruled Friday, rejecting the Italian cyclist's appeal.The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) upheld the International Olympic Committee (IOC)'s 2009 ruling that Rebellin, 38, must give the medal back because tests had shown he used Mircera, the latest generation of the blood booster EPO, in the Beijing road race.
Rebellin is considered one of the finest road racers of his generation.
Last year he became the second Italian to win the Belgian classic the Fleche Wallonne for the third time.
Rebellin first won the Fleche in 2004 when he took all three Flemish classics, starting with the Amstel Gold Race and ending with the Liege-Bastogne-Liege.
This was an unprecedented feat, and has not yet been equalled.
The Verona-born rider has more than 50 top-ten finishes in one-day classics.
But he has done well on stage races too, winning one stage of the Giro d'Italia as well as the Paris-Nice and Tirreno-Adriatico.
Rebellin came second in Beijing to Spain's Samuel Sanchez.
