Amy Dombroski (Telenet-Fidea Cycling Team)(Image credit: Dave McElwaine/trailwatch.net)
The 2013-2014 Young Telenet-Fidea 'cross team (L-R): Amy Dombroski, Nikki Harris, Sophie de Boer and Pavla Havlikova(Image credit: Photopress.be)
Amy Dombroski (Telenet-Fidea) on the front row at CrossVegas(Image credit: Dave McElwaine/trailwatch.net)
Amy Dombroski, a 26-year-old American who races cyclo-cross for the Belgian Young Telenet-Fidea squad, was killed today while on a training ride in Belgium. The news first broke on Twitter via her team followed by a report on vandaag.be that Dombroski had a collision with a truck.
"It is terrible, terrible news," Corné Lepoeter, president of Telenet's development team, told VeloNews. "We are all so sad. … We don't know anything more. We just got the news."
The Young Telenet-Fidea squad later reported on their team website more details about the circumstances of Dombroski's death, which occurred while she was in the midst of a motor-pacing workout on the road.
"Amy was doing a workout behind a scooter when around 4:00 pm, a collision occurred with a truck in Sint-Katelijne-Waver," read the statement. "The driver of the motorcycle miraculously escaped the accident but for Amy the consequences of the impact were so great that she succumbed.
"Amy was a very likeable young woman with lots of ambition. She had worked hard in recent months on her speed and power to make it to the top of women's cyclo-cross in the coming months."
It was also stated by the Young Telenet-Fidea team that Dombroski was engaged to motocross rider Ryan Rozinsky.
Dombroski opened her 2013-2014 'cross season in the United States with a pair of local races in Colorado where she placed second at Cross of the North and first at GMS Zero Gravel Cross. She then travelled to Las Vegas, Nevada where finished 15th in her seventh CrossVegas then competed in the Gran Prix of Gloucester in Gloucester, Massachusetts this past weekend where she placed eighth on Saturday and 11th on Sunday.
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Dombroski then flew to Belgium for her team's presentation on Tuesday and the start of her European campaign.
Dombroski was a native of Jericho, Vermont, but like many pursuing a professional cycling career she resided in Boulder, Colorado. Dombroski was a three-time U23 national cyclo-cross champion and also had US U23 national titles on the road and for cross country mountain biking in her palmares.
The 2013-2014 'cross season would be her second as part of the Young Telenet-Fidea squad and her third straight year of having a Belgian base for the bulk of her cyclo-cross season. During the 2011-2012 'cross season, Dombroski was a one-woman team in Europe, sponsored by Crankbrothers.
Dombroski was a member of the US national team at the most recent UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships which were held for the first time in the United States in Louisville, Kentucky. Dombroski finished 11th, her best-ever world championship result, and finished the 2012-2013 season in 16th on the overall UCI rankings, the highest-placed American after number one-ranked Katie Compton.
Prior to competing for Young Telenet-Fidea and Crankbrothers, Dombroski rode 'cross for the Luna Pro Team (2010-2011), Schlamm p/b Primus Mootry (2009-2010), Velo Bella-Kona (2007-2009) and Excel Sports Boulder (2006). She also competed on the road and in mountain biking throughout her career with stints as a road pro with Webcor in 2008-2009 as well as the Luna Pro Team for mountain biking coinciding with her time spent racing 'cross for the program.
In addition to her success in 'cross on US soil, Dombroski had numerous top-10 'cross results in European races including World Cups, Superprestige events and Bpost Bank Trofee events.
Everyone at Cyclingnews would like to express their deepest sympathies to Amy’s family, friends and teammates.
Based in the southeastern United States, Peter produces race coverage for all disciplines, edits news and writes features. The New Jersey native has 30 years of road racing and cyclo-cross experience, starting in the early 1980s as a Junior in the days of toe clips and leather hairnets. Over the years he's had the good fortune to race throughout the United States and has competed in national championships for both road and 'cross in the Junior and Masters categories. The passion for cycling started young, as before he switched to the road Peter's mission in life was catching big air on his BMX bike.
