ROME: An Italian court on Monday sentenced a German truck driver to four years in prison for causing the death of Italian professional cyclist Davide Rebellin in a road accident, the Italian press reported.

Wolfgang Rieke, 64, was charged with involuntary manslaughter and failing to assist a person in danger by the court in Vincenza.

Rebellin was out training on his bike on November 30, 2022, when he was knocked over by Rieke’s truck at a roundabout in Montebello Vicen­tino in the north-east of Italy.

The German, who had failed to stop, was tracked down by CCTV footage and eventually arrested by police in June 2023.

Rebellin died at the scene. He was 51 and still riding professionally. His tragic death triggered an outpouring of emotion from the world of cycling and Italian sport.

Rebellin was a leading one-day classic specialist in the early 2000s, winning the Fleche Wallonne three times, the Liege-Bastogne-Liege and the Amstel Gold Race.

At the 2008 Beijing Olympics he claimed silver in the men’s road race, only to test positive for the performance-enhancer EPO months later, leading to his disqualification and a two year ban.

Published in Dawn, October 15th, 2024