Pro cyclocross racer Amy Dombroski of Boulder was killed Thursday when she was hit by a truck while training in Belgium.

Dombroski, 26, was riding behind a scooter when she was hit by a truck. The 52-year-old truck driver was not under the influence of alcohol when the accident occurred at 4 a.m. MDT, according to the Belgian newspaper, Het Nieusblad.

Dombroski won three under-23 cyclocross national titles and moved to Belgium last year to train with her team, Telenet-Fidea.

The accident sent shock waves through the Colorado cycling community.

“When I decided to come back to cycling, I came back specifically wanting to live as an athlete like Amy Dombroski did,” said Mara Abbott, a Boulder cyclist who returned in 2012 after a year’s absence and won her second prestigious Giro Rosa title. “She did stuff because she loved it and because it was good for her. So many of us waste time hemming and hawing and not doing what we should be doing and what our heart says.

“Amy didn’t do that.”

When Dombroski, a Jericho, Vt., native, was back in Boulder, she and Abbott sometimes trained together. Abbott left the sport for health reasons and returned last year better than ever.

“I told myself if I come back, I’d be proud to be an athlete like Amy,” Abbott said. “I’d be joyful and in tune with what made me happy and I’d take care of people I love the same way Amy did.

“Whether she knew it or not, she was my role model to come back to cycling.”

Georgia Gould, a Fort Collins mountain biker and cyclocross racer who won a bronze medal at the London Olympics mountain bike race, was Dombroski’s teammate for a year with LUNA Chix.

“Amy was a firecracker,” Gould said. “She had a really great sense of humor. She’d say what’s on her mind, which I appreciate. She was just a very dedicated racer.”

Dombroski’s accident came on a country road near the Belgian town of Sint-Katelijne-Waver.

“Any time anyone falls victim of that sort of dangerous training environment, it’s tough for all of us,” said Jonathan Vaughters, CEO of Boulder-based Garmin-Sharp. “We know the risks and live with that and hope nothing happens, but sometimes it does.”

According to Boulder-based VeloNews, Dombroski’s friends have set up a memorial fund to help her family. Donations can be left at Pro Peloton in Boulder or mailed to Memorial of Amy Dombroski; c/o Wells Fargo Deposits; 1242 Pearl St.; Boulder 80302.

John Henderson: jhenderson@denverpost.com or twitter.com/johnhendersondp