LIVINGSTON: Durango lost a friend in Ben Sonntag

Friday, Mar 6, 2020 9:37 PM Updated Sunday, Mar. 8, 2020 8:34 PM

Benjamin Sonntag was remembered as a kind soul with an infectious passion for life. Always smiling and encouraging others, Sonntag was one of the top mountain bike athletes in the world after his days as a world-class winter triathlete and Nordic skier. Originally from Germany, Sonntag spent roughly 15 years in Durango in a community that was proud to have him. He was killed Wednesday while riding his bicycle when he was a hit by a driver in a truck on a remote county road in southwest La Plata County.

Courtesy of Bill Schieken

Ben Sonntag a professional cyclist at his Durango home in 2016. Photo by Jerry McBride/Durango Herald file

Bejamin Sonntag was remembered as a kind soul with an infectious passion for life. Always smiling and encouraging others, Sonntag was one of the top mountain bike athletes in the world after his days as a world-class winter triathlete and Nordic skier. Originally from Germany, Sonntag spent roughly 15 years in Durango in a community that was proud to have him. He was killed Wednesday while riding his bicycle when he was a hit by a driver in a truck on a remote county road in southwest La Plata County. Photo courtesy of Bill Schieken

A storm was rolling in as a we approached the crux of the climb to the top of Engineer Mountain north of Durango. A friend and I approached believing we would be the last to the summit that July 2017 day. We looked back and saw a trail runner quickly approaching. As soon as I looked back, I knew it was Ben Sonntag.

He was an athlete I had become familiar with in my three years of covering professional cycling for The Durango Herald. Known by everyone as “Ze German,” he was a perennial contender in the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic road and mountain bike races. He was also a regular on podiums on the Epic Rides series mountain bike races.

That 2017 summer day with clouds closing in, Sonntag stopped running when he reached me. As always, he greeted me with a big smile and wanted to know how the hike had been going. Nowhere near the mountain athlete as the three-time collegiate mountain bike national champion for Fort Lewis College and three-time All-American cross-country skier at University of Alaska Anchorage, my pace was that of a slow hike up the shale sections of the 12,968-foot peak in the southern San Juan Mountains. Sonntag’s stride was blistering in the middle of mountain bike season, as he charged directly up to us in a matter of a minute. I would find out this week from Sonntag’s girlfriend, Sarah Alsgaard, that he could run a five-minute mile and would have been a force of an ultra-runner had he choose to switch sports.

Livingston

But Sonntag didn’t keep running past us. He stopped. We approached the crux and the summit together, sharing stories and me, naturally, wanting to hear all about how his season was going and what races he had next. Sonntag would rather hear how I was doing and what stories I was working on and talk about his peers in the community.

He came up the mountain a source. After we got back down the summit and to the saddle of the peak, he ran back down the mountain a friend.

That was Sonntag. He was a force of an athlete who trained with methodical precision and a German quality. But he was a friend to everyone who crossed his path.

“He was a jolly, happy-go-lucky guy,” Durango cycling star Todd Wells said. “At races, he was focused, dedicated, but he was always a friendly guy and nice to everybody. When I think of Ben, I think of him laughing. He was a funny, happy guy with his German accent who was friends with everybody. If you knew Ben, you felt like a good friend.”

An all-around mountain athlete, Durango’s Benjamin Sonntag frequently ran to the summit of Engineer Mountain when he wasn’t riding his bike for training. On a July afternoon in 2017, Sonntag stopped running to continue to the summit with Herald sports editor John Livingston. After sharing some stories and laughs before getting back down to the saddle, he would resume his run after a warm farewell.

John Livingston/Durango Herald

Sonntag was an athlete a reporter would always want to talk to after a race because he always had wonderful information to share about the tactics of what played out. But before talking about any of his own accomplishments, he wanted to know how everyone else did. He could be found at a finish line talking to each racer about their day and listening with a big smile on his face. He naturally made people feel better simply by being in their presence.

“There was never a bad day for Ben Sonntag; he was just that way,” said FLC cycling director Dave Hagen.

So when I got a text message Wednesday night from an editor at the newspaper reading, “Did you hear about Ben Sonntag?” hours after a story had been published about a cyclist being killed on a remote La Plata County road west of Durango, my heart sank. I stood in the City Market cereal aisle for five minutes staring at a wall of Raisin Bran in shock.

I again picked up my phone and dialed Sonntag. The German always answered, even if he was busy. When he didn’t, I raced to my car to call Chad Cheeney of Durango DEVO and Fort Lewis College cycling. There was a team announcement party for DEVO 3000 that night, and Sonntag was a mainstay at most Durango cycling events if he was in town. Incoherently, I stumbled to ask Cheeney if he had seen Sonntag. Nobody had.

Thursday morning, Colorado State Patrol confirmed Sonntag was the cyclist killed shortly after noon Wednesday when he was hit by a driver in a 1991 Ford Ranger pickup truck on that dirt road so many cyclists in this area seek in an effort to get away from cars on busy roads around Durango.

Bejamin Sonntag repeatedly overcame injuries to regain his status as one of the best mountain bikers in the United States.

Courtesy of Bill Schieken

He was out training for the upcoming U.S. spring races. There was no doubt he was set to storm podiums again this year.

“The night before I heard the news, one of the last things I did before going to sleep was catch up on Ben’s Strava,” said Durango pro cyclist Payson McElveen. “The race season is approaching, and inevitably you start thinking about how your competitors’ preseason training has gone. Earlier this week ,he’d done a ride where his title had said something to the effect of ‘feeling fresh and strong.’ The ride was a 100 miler where he’d averaged 21.5 mph and almost 250 watts. The route had plenty of climbs, dirt etc. I’ve had days like that and know that feeling where you have incredible endurance depth and the diesel engine is just ripping. It’s that sort of validation ride that all the winter miles have paid off, and that you’re ready for the first big races of the year. I remember closing my computer and smiling, because I knew, yet again, like always, Ben was coming.”

A fierce competitor, Benjamin Sonntag was never out of a race. He famously would pick off riders late in races to work his way up a podium.

Courtesy of Bill Schieken

Though Sonntag’s skiing and cycling feats are mighty, they couldn’t compare to his status as a world-class human being. Since the initial reporting, I’ve listened to some incredible stories about Sonntag. His Facebook page is full of so many tales of his kindness. Each one is worth a read.

He came to the U.S. from Germany and to Durango from Alaska, but Sonntag was a true Durangoan. He embodied everything that makes this community so great.

“This is a massive loss,” said Durango’s Rotem Ishay, who was a teammate of Sonntag’s at FLC. “He’s been racing and representing Durango for close to 15 years now. We both came from another country to Durango because we wanted to accomplish a dream and chase our passion. He’s German, I’m Israeli, but our home is Durango.”

Durango has lost a great man. We’ve all lost a friend.

John Livingston is the sports editor of The Durango Herald. He can be reached at 375-4514 or jlivingston@durangoherald.com. Follow him on Twitter @jlivi2.