“Therefore, I, Bill Ritter, Jr., Governor of the State of Colorado, do hereby proclaim February 5, 2008, Fort Lewis College Cycling Team Day in the State of Colorado.”

So states the honorary proclamation presented to the FLC Cycling Team by the Governor’s Office. The team was supposed to have accepted the honor in person, but mother nature had different plans as a debilitating snowstorm slammed into the Four Corners earlier this week.

After some confusion concerning whether or not the cycling team would be honored on a different day, it was determined that Tuesday, February 5 would remain as Fort Lewis College Cycling Team Day.

Despite the fact that the day has passed, Fort Lewis College would like to congratulate the cycling team, especially coaches Rick Crawford and Dave Hagen, on the legacy of excellence they have built over the years.

The Fort Lewis College Cycling Team is the reigning NCCA Mountain Bike National Champions, an honor they are enjoying for the second consecutive year and the ninth time overall. The team’s other 2007 finishes, third at Road Nationals, third at Track Nationals, and second at Cyclocross Nationals, places the FLC Cycling program at the top of the collegiate ranks.

Team Bios

Joey Thompson

Joey Thompson, a senior business major with a 3.6 GPA from Avondale, PA, has represented Fort Lewis College at three Collegiate Cyclocross National Championships and one Collegiate Road National Championship. He was part of the four man team that won the Team Time Trial at the 2007 Collegiate Road National Championships, making it three wins in a row for Fort Lewis College in the Team Time Trial at the Championships. He has finished second in 2006 and 2007 in the Division 1 Men’s Collegiate Cyclocross National Championship and races for the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory Cycling Team.

Cody & Sage Wilderman

The brother sister combination of Cody and Sage Wilderman came to Fort Lewis College from Winter Park, CO, as very accomplished junior cyclists and skiers.

Cody, a senior business major with a 3.3 GPA, is a four-time member of the Fort Lewis College Mountain Bike National Team and this year won the Division 1 Men’s Collegiate Downhill National Championship. During the summers he also manages and races for the Yeti/Totally Wired Downhill Team.

Sage, a freshman business major with a 3.6 GPA, is a first time member of the Fort Lewis College Mountain Bike National and won the Division 1 Women’s Collegiate Downhill National Championship in her first attempt. She has also traveled to Bangladesh as a missionary to build schools in major slum areas.

Ben Sonntag

Ben Sonntag, a junior business major with a 3.2 GPA, is from Kustelburg, Germany. He has been a scholarship Nordic skier at the University of Alaska and came to Fort Lewis College in 2007 to compete with the top collegiate cycling team in the country. He is a first time member of the Fort Lewis College National Mountain Bike Team and won the Division 1 Men’s Collegiate Cross-Country National Championship by over 15 minutes. He is also the 2003 and 2006 World Champion in Winter Triathlon.

Rick Crawford

Rick Crawford has been the head coach of the Fort Lewis College Cycling Team for seven years and is one of the best known cycling coaches in the country. He spent many years as a competitive cyclist and has been on the US National Triathlon Team. His list of coaching clients reads like a who’s who of American cycling: Lance Armstrong, Tom Danielson, Olympian Todd Wells and mountain bike National Champion Shonny Vanlandingham.

Dave Hagen

Dave Hagen has been the team manager of the Fort Lewis College cycling team for four years and has a bachelor’s degree in humanities from Fort Lewis College. He has been involved in cycling as a racer and mountain bike camp owner for over 20 years in Durango.  

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