Davide Rebellin died Wednesday morning at the age of 51 after being hit by a truck while training near Vicenza.

According to local newspaper Il Gazzettino, Rebellin died instantly in the accident, which occurred just before noon in Montebello Vicentino; Il Gazzettino said the driver did not stop at the scene, but it is unclear whether he was aware of the impact.

Police are working to reconstruct the incident and are trying to locate the driver.

Rebellin finished at the Veneto Classic in Bassano del Grappa last month and was congratulated by a local crowd.

Rebellin, who hails from San Bonifacio near Verona, turned professional soon after representing Italy at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. He then spent 30 years in the peloton, including Liege-Bastogne-Liege, Flèche Wallonne, Amstel Gold Race, Tirreno-Adriatico, Paris-Nice, Clasica San Sebastian, and Zoury-Metzgeete. He also wore Maria Rosa for five days at the 1996 Giro d'Italia, finishing sixth overall.

Rebellin later became the first Italian athlete to be stripped of an Olympic medal after testing positive for CERA at the 2008 Beijing Games.

Rebellin returned to the pro peloton in 2011, and although the door to the World Tour remained closed, he continued to race for teams such as CCC, Meridiana-Camen, and Kuwait-Calcho before ending his racing career with the Italian continental team, Work Service

Rebellin was a member of the Italian Continental team Work Service.

Rebellin competed in the first UCI Gravel World Championships in October in the Italian jersey, indicating his intention to continue competing in gravel events after his road racing career ended.

Italian national coach Daniele Bennati responded to the tragedy in a social media post on Wednesday afternoon, speaking for many: "Tell me it's not true.