Former professional cyclist Agustín Sagasti Murgia has been found dead in his home at the age of 39.
In 1994 at the age of 23 he won the fifth stage of the Tour of the Basque Country, which also marked the first victory for the then Euskadi-Orbea team.
The following year Sagasti was forced to stop cycling after colliding with an oncoming car during the Vuelta a los Valles Mineros Asturias. The young Basque rider fell into a coma and suffered severe injuries to his femur and left arm.
When race organizers refused to claim responsibility for the accident he took the case to court. In May 1998 the courts ruled in the cyclist’s favor. The court ordered the race organizers, Unipublic Mieres, to pay 70 million pesetas in compensation for failing to control traffic at the intersection where the vehicle entered the course.
After recovering from his injuries he spent time as coach for the Basque Cycling Federation.