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Friday, June 26, 2009

Stahurskaia killed in Belorussia

Stahurskaia killed in Belorussia

By VeloNews.com
Published: Jun. 26, 2009
Stahurskaia, after winning the Grande Boucle féminine cycliste in 2002.
Stahurskaia, after winning the Grande Boucle féminine cycliste in 2002.

Former world road champion Zinaida Stahurskaia was killed Thursday in a training accident after being hit by a car. She was 38.

Officials from the Interior ministry in Belorussia confirmed her death Friday. Stahurskaia won the 2000 world title and the 2002 women’s Tour de France, but saw her legacy tainted when she served a two-year racing ban in 2006.

According to reports, a car coming from the opposite direction crossed into Stahurskaia’s lane and slammed into her head-on. Her trainer was following behind her in a car and had to swerve to avoid hitting on the oncoming car, officials said.

Stahurskaia, who has lived in Italy for several years, returned to her native Belorussia to train for this weekend’s national championships.

She had several run-ins with doping officials, with a pair of months-long bans in 2002 and 2004, before finally serving a two-year ban in 2006 after anti-doping controls found high levels of testosterone and an anabolic steroid in her system.

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