Rebellin Olympic medal taken away

Rebellin won his silver medal on his 37th birthday

Davide Rebellin has been stripped of his Olympic cycling road race silver medal after a positive dope test.

The Italian tested positive for Cera, an advanced version of endurance-enhancing substance EPO, after coming second behind Spain's Samuel Sanchez.

Italy's Olympic Committee (CONI) said the International Olympic Committee (IOC) had disqualified the 38-year-old.

Fabian Cancellara and Alexander Kolobnev, who came third and fourth, could now be promoted as a result.

When the initial test results were made public in April, Rebellin denied any wrong-doing, telling Italian newspaper La Stampa: "I don't know what may have happened. It is certainly a mistake. It is impossible that I tested positive."

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He now faces a CONI disciplinary hearing and will also pay them back prize money of around £67,000.

The IOC tested 948 samples from Beijing after new tests for Cera and insulin became available after the Olympics.