“A terrible thing happened on Thursday morning. A box truck hit a group of cyclists outside of Las Vegas, taking five lives. My stomach dropped when I learned one of those was a friend and Every Man Jack (Team EMJ) teammate, Tom Trauger. An amazing guy and such a tragic loss to everyone that knew him.” These are the painful words of one of the triathletes in the Every Man Jack triathlon team on the tragic loss of their friend Tom Trauger. The 57-year-old Trauger was one of the twenty cyclists that got involved in a devastating crash with a truck earlier this week.
“When it came to his personal life, professional career and athletic ability, Tom Trauger was the gold standard for his friends and triathlon teammates,” according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “There wasn’t anything you didn’t look up to him about,” adds Ritch Viola, the founder of the Every Man Jack team. Trauger was one of the original members of Viola’s team when he started it about ten years ago.
“The team is now national. We have guys all over the country that are all in mourning.” said Viola.
Another team member, Jason Ream, has organized a special Zwift ride for Trauger today: “On Sunday, the team is hosting a tribute ride on Zwift that is open to everyone. If you are a cyclist, we would love your participation as we honor Tom.”
At 10:00am (GMT -5) today people from all over the world can join the one-hour ride on Zwift. “Join this hour celebration of Tom’s life through Watopia.”
