Boulder residents and the cycling community on Monday were mourning the death of 17-year-old cyclist Magnus White, remembered as a self-motivated rider who was an “incredible role model.”
The rising star, who was scheduled to race on the U.S. team at the upcoming world championships in Scotland, was killed Saturday when he was hit by a driver during a training ride near his Boulder home.
“He proudly represented the U.S. and the Boulder community,” USA Cycling officials on Sunday announcing his death. “We offer our heartfelt condolences to the White family, his teammates, friends, and the Boulder community during this incredibly difficult time. We ride for Magnus.”
Magnus was emerging as a multidisciplinary star, winning a junior national championship in cyclocross in 2021 and earning a place on the U.S. national team. He competed with the team in Europe ahead of last year’s cyclocross world championships, and he was picked to represent the United States again at this year’s cyclocross worlds in the Netherlands. He broadened his cycling this season into road cycling and mountain biking. He was on one of his final training rides before the junior world mountain bike championships in Glasgow, Scotland, when the crash happened.
He was riding on Colorado 119 — the Diagonal Highway — north of Boulder, south of the intersection with North 63rd Street, early Saturday afternoon when he was hit by a Toyota Matrix driven by a 23-year-old woman from Westminster, Colorado State Patrol Trooper Gabriel Moltrer said. The Matrix apparently crossed onto the shoulder of the highway.
Magnus was thrown from his bicycle. He was transported to a hospital, where doctors pronounced him dead.
“Effortless grace”
Magnus’s passion for cycling started at age 2 with his first strider bike, his parents, Michael and Jill, said in a statement. He was an “incredibly self-motivated cyclist who was just reaching his potential.”
Their son had a smile that lit up the room, the Whites said. The outpouring of support in the wake of his tragic death, they said, made them realize “the incredible reach he had across the world.”
Michael Robson watched White grow up in the family from the age of 8.
He’s personally coached the teen for the past six years, traveling with Magnus to prestigious races around the country.
“He made the hardest thing to do look easy,” Robson said. “He had this effortless grace about him.”
Magnus would always be up to something, his coach remembered. He had a good-natured mischievous side — playing practical jokes, bending the rules in whatever game he was playing and making his teammates laugh.
“He was always his absolute best self,” Robson said, “and an incredible role model for the other kids.”
Magnus had tons of friends around the world, navigating easily amongst various social circles, his coach said.
And he just loved to bike. Even when they weren’t training, Magnus would tool around at Valmont Park with his friends.
With his travel schedule packed, Magnus took his high school classes online, Robson said. And he still excelled.
“He held his character and determination to the highest of standards,” his parents said in their statement, “which he carried through everything he did in life.”
Magnus’s cycling prowess earned the attention of some professional teams, who expressed interest in signing the Boulder teen. He had planned to speak with teams in Scotland this week while in town for the world championships, Robson said.
The crash that killed Magnus is still under investigation, but drugs, alcohol, and speed “are not suspected” as factors in the crash, Moltrer said, noting that distracted driving remained a possible cause.
The number of fatal and injury vehicle crashes caused by lane violations has increased in Colorado, from 450 in 2019 to 635 in 2022, according to state patrol statistics.
The 17-year-old’s loss, the coach said, reverberates throughout the Boulder Junior Cycling Family.
“We’re suffering,” he said.
Friends of his family have launched a in memory of Magnus.
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