TALLINN, Estonia -- Cyclist Lauri Aus was mourned in his home country Monday after a driver accused of drunken driving hit him as he trained on a rural road.

The 32-year-old Aus, a respected cyclist on the European circuit, was killed in Estonia on Sunday. A car traveling at high speed struck him from behind, hurling him 20 yards. He died en route to the hospital, police spokeswoman Kadri Palta said.

A breath test showed the driver was "highly intoxicated," said Palta, adding the man was arrested and would remain in custody until at least Tuesday.

If convicted of causing a fatality in a road accident, the suspect, whose name was not given, faces a maximum five years in jail.

In France, Aus was remembered Monday with a minute of silence at the start of the 15th stage of the Tour de France.

Aus was an eight-time Estonian champion and member of France's AG2R team. He never won a major international title but placed fifth at the 1992 Olympics and seventh at the 1997 world championships in road racing. He raced in the Tour de France in 1997 and 2000.

A local cycling club, the Prusakov Bicycle Society, said it would hold a road race in honor of Aus.

Estonia, a former Soviet republic, has one of Europe's highest road fatality rates. In 2002, about 220 people died and 2,800 were injured in traffic mishaps in a country of 1.4 million.

"We can't get back Lauri Aus, a top cyclist and a wonderful human being," wrote Estonia's top daily newspaper, Postimees, in an editorial Monday. "Let's acknowledge that he was a victim of our society and mentality. How badly we need zero tolerance right now (for drunken driving)."