World Champion Duathlete Benny Vansteelant passed away this morning of injuries sustained when he was hit by a car during a training ride near his home in Tourhout, Belgium on Saturday, September 8th it was reported on the International Triathlon Union web site.

Vansteelant (30) won the junior world title in 1997 and turned professional in 1999. Currently ranked number one in the world, he won the ITU Long Course Duathlon World Championships in 2000- 2001, 2005, and 2006. He had qualified to represent Belgium in the 2007 McDonald's ITU Duathlon Long Course World Championships set for October 21st in Richmond, VA and was widely seen as the odds-on favorite.

In an e-mail interview, he explained his preference for duathlon. "It's just the combination of my two favorite sports," he wrote. "Two sports that you can do in free nature and ask a very strong endurance power. I especially like the non-drafting format as it is a true and honest fight in first place with yourself!"