Italian police are studying CCTV footage filmed where Davide Rebellin was killed as part of their efforts to track down a truck driver who hit the 51-year-old and left the scene. Reports in Italy state the police's efforts are now focused on a driver in a German-registered truck.
The same reports say just after the crash the driver turned into the car park of a restaurant, right beside where the fatal crash occurred, before waiting there for a matter of minutes and then driving off again. He was in the car park for about four minutes and there were conflicting reports about whether or not he got out of his truck at the scene when the crash occurred.
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However, after entering and then exiting the car park it appears he drove back the same way, passing the crash scene as he went. The CCTV footage does not cover the exact spot where the crash occurred, with the police instead examining trucks that took the turn into the restaurant car park at the same time Rebellin was hit.
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Police officers want to track down a small number of drivers to speak to them and examine their vehicles for any damage, or other signs of the fatal crash. They are said to be especially keen to track down a German-registered truck and its driver.
"I hope they find him," Rebellin's mother Brigida Gattere told Il Corriere della Sera. "I hope, if it turns out that he really ran away after killing my son, justice can take its course. No one should die like that."
Rebellin (51) had only just retired from pro racing in October but was killed on Wednesday. He was hit by a driver in a truck on his way home from a training ride in Montebello Vicentino, a region in northern Italy. He was on his gravel bike, which was smashed up and in pieces on the road after the crash.
He won major races like Liège-Bastogne-Liège, Flèche Wallonne, Amstel Gold, Tirreno Adriatico and Paris Nice as well as the world amateur road race title before breaking through to the top level of the sport. However, he also served a doping ban after testing positive for CERA at the 2008 Olympics.
While he returned to racing after his ban he never rejoined a World Tour team, instead spending his remaining 14 seasons at ProContinental and Continental level. He had said recently his resentment over the doping ban had spurred him on to keep racing until this year.
