Spanish cyclist found dead in freak accident

A cyclist from the Spanish Movistar team, Xavier Tondo, died in a freak accident on Monday as he set out to train for the upcoming Tour de France

Tondo who won a stage on the Paris-Nice race and finished sixth in the Tour of Spain had also won the 2011 Tour of Castilla and Leon. The 32-year-old was found by police crushed between a garage door and his car.

He was planning to join his colleague Alejandro Valverde in the Sierra Nevada for some long distance training. He made headlines earlier this year when he blew the whistle on a doping ring. He informed authorities after receiving emails in which he was offered banned substances.

His body was taken to the Independent Forensic Institute in Granada where his family members and Movistar team officials later gathered.

Movistar officials said they would not withdraw their team from the Giro d'Italia,and they thought the best way to honour Xavi was to keep on the cycling.

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