'Not revenge but justice': Davide Rebellin's family welcome trial decision

The family of former pro Davide Rebellin have welcomed the decision of a Vicenza court to reject the plea deal of the truck driver charged with causing his death.

Instead the driver – 63-year-old Wolfgang Rieke – will go on trial on May 27, reports La Gazzetta della Sport in Italy. 

He had hoped to serve out a sentence of three years 11 months under house arrest, but this was rejected by a panel of judges.

"It was a nice surprise, we didn't expect it," Rebellin's brother Carlo told La Gazzetta.

Rebellin was killed in November 2022 after Rieke allegedly struck the Italian with his truck he was driving in Montebello Vicentino.

"We can only be satisfied with the fact that… the judges have decided to go ahead and send Rieke to trial," Carlo Rebellin added. "We renew all our thanks for the great work carried out by the Italian Justice for Davide, both at the prosecutor's office and at the court."

The family, he said, were not motivated by revenge, but were seek what was right: "We do not want revenge but justice for Davide, and we believe that a trial is the right place to ascertain all the facts, and to arrive at a sentence that will not return him to us but which is at least the most appropriate possible, to the serious responsibilities of the accused," he said.

According to a report by Il Gazzettino at the time, the driver was fully aware that he had struck Rebellin, but nevertheless, still fled the scene. The Italian newspaper claims that witnesses saw the driver exit his Volvo truck after the crash and approach Rebellin, before then getting back into his vehicle and driving away. 

The cyclist was 51 when he died. He had amassed a huge palmarès across a 30-year pro career from which he had only just retired. His biggest race results came in the hilly Classics, with wins in events such as Liège-Bastogne-Liège (2004), Amstel Gold (2004) and Flèche Wallonne (2004, 07, 09). Like many riders of his generation, he did not remain free of controversy, and was stripped of an Olympic silver medal from Beijing 2008 after testing positive for CERA.