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Pro cross country racer Ben Sonntag killed while on training ride in Colorado

Clif Pro Team athlete was hit by a truck while riding on the road outside Durango

March 5, 2020
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Professional cross country mountain biker Benjamin Sonntag has died after being struck by a vehicle in Colorado. The rider, who races for the Clif Pro Team, had been on a training ride at the time of the collision.

Sonntag was hit by a pickup truck while riding on a remote Country Road, reports The Durango Herald. The crash occurred on Wednesday. Colorado State Patrol confirmed Sonntag’s death Thursday.

BCBR Day 1 2019 BC Bike Race Day `
Benjamin Sonntag follows Payson McElveen on Day 1 of the 2019 BC Bike Race. Margus Riga

The German-born rider, who has been a long-time resident of Durango, Colo. had recently returned from racing the Salamina Epic in Greece. In 2019, Sonntag traveled to Canada’s west coast for the B.C. Bike Race.

Fellow racers quickly took to Twitter to pay tribute to Sonntag, including Geoff Kabush, Emily Batty and U.S. Olympic mountain biker Todd Wells. The Clif Pro Team racer was popular among his peers, and respected for his positive disposition.

Collision occurred during a training ride on the road

According to the Colorado State Patrol, Sonntag was hit by the pickup while riding his road bike on a remote Country Road. “The pickup truck traveled off the right side of the road, colliding with a fence, continued through a field, and then off an embankment before coming to rest on its right side in Cherry Creek,” the agency stated in a news release.

Sonntag was pronounced dead on the scene. The 19-year-old driver of the pickup was taken to a nearby hospital with minor injuries.