Team Movistar rider Xavier Tondo has died at his home in Spain after a freak accident in which he was crushed between his car and a garage door.
The 32-year-old was killed as he tried to take his car out of the garage.
Civil Guard spokesman Juan Carlos Lopez said Tondo got out of his car to open the garage door but his car rolled forward and crushed him against the door. A passenger was in the other seat at the time.
Tondo was on his way to go training with Alejandro Valverde in the Sierra Nevada mountain range.
Cyclists have been paying tribute to Tondo on Twitter.
“My sincere condolences to his family,” wrote Tour de France winner and current Giro d’Italia leader Alberto Contador.
“He was an amazing person who loved this sport as anyone. I’ll miss you very much. Rest in peace.”
Tondo won 14 races in his career. The news follows the recent death in a crash of Wouter Weylandt during the Giro d’Italia.
