Davide Rebellin of German team Gerolsteiner celebrates in 2004 as he crosses the finish line to win the Fleche Wallonne.
Davide Rebellin has confirmed that he will again race as a professional in 2019, spending his 27th season with the Algerian Team Sovac Continental squad.
The veteran Italian turned 47 in August but is still enthusiastic about racing and will make his season debut at the Grand Prix Cycliste la Marseillaise in the south of France on February 3.
"I'm happy doing what I do. I'm still enthusiastic and I feel good. I'm not interested in setting any records, I'll just keep riding until my heart and my legs tell me otherwise," Rebellin told La Gazzetta dello Sport.
Rebellin turned professional with the Italian GB-MG Maglificio team after representing Italy at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. He went on to ride for La Française des Jeux, Polti, Liquigas, Gerolsteiner, Androni Giocattoli, Miche, Meridiana, CCC and Kuwait-Cartcho.es.
He tested positive for CERA in the road race event at the 2008 Beijing Olympics but came back after his ban. He was eventually cleared of criminal charges for doping and tax evasion in an Italian court.
Rebellin won the Amstel Gold Race, Fleche-Wallonne and Liege-Bastogne-Liege in 2004 but now acts as a road captain and directeur sportif with the young Algerian riders in the Sovac team.
He also boosts his income by running training camps for amateur riders called "Rebel-Camp" on the Spanish island of Gran Canaria,
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"It's an interesting project and it's not only about the racing," he said of the Sovac team.
"It's about developing cycling in Algeria, and I'm happy to share my experience. I might even continue to do it when I eventually retire. I'd like to bow out in a big race. I don't know if it'll happen, but I'm not setting a date. I'm living for the moment, with the same spirit as I had when I was a neo-pro."
