Italy's Davide Rebellin competes en route to a silver medal in the men's road race at the Beijing Olympic Games. (Christophe Ena/Canadian Press)Italian cyclist Davide Rebellin plans to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport after being stripped of his Olympic silver medal because of doping.
Rebellin's lawyer, Fausto Pavone, told the Gazzetta dello Sport newspaper on Thursday they would wait the required three weeks before bringing their case to the Swiss court.
The IOC asked the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) on Tuesday to take away Rebellin's medal from the road race at last year's Beijing Games.
Rebellin was one of five athletes who tested positive in April for CERA, an advanced version of the blood-boosting drug EPO, in new tests using retroactive blood samples taken at the games. All denied doping.
Also on Thursday, CONI said it will open legal proceedings against Rebellin seeking damages in the case and that the rider has been asked to return the bonus he received for winning the medal.
CONI said anti-doping prosecutor Ettore Torri was in the process of opening a disciplinary case against Rebellin.
