Grahamstown athletes have joined the cycling community around the world in mourning the tragic death of top South African mountain biker, Burry Stander.
Grahamstown athletes have joined the cycling community around the world in mourning the tragic death of top South African mountain biker, Burry Stander.
"Burry was out training when he was hit by a motor vehicle in Shelly Beach on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast," said Cycling South Africa spokesperson Mylene Loumeau.
Details of the accident are still being investigated.
Stander, who was the most successful mountain bike cyclist the country has ever seen, finished fifth in the men's mountain bike event at the 2012 London Olympics.
Stander is also a former Under-23 winner in the Mountain Bike World Cup series.
In 2011, Stander became the first South African to win the gruelling Cape Epic stage race in the Western Cape, with Swiss partner Christoph Sauser, and the pair defended their title in 2012.
He was a feared rider on the global circuit, having won events in all corners of the globe. He was also a three-time SA mountain bike champion.
Stander married fellow 2008 Beijing Olympian Cherise Stander (nee Taylor) in May last year.
"This is indeed terrible news to start 2013 with. Burry was the epitome of an Olympic athlete – talented, ultra-competitive but at the same time extremely humble and a true gentleman," said National Olympic Governing Body president Gideon Sam.
"I'm totally shattered because athletes of Burry’s calibre are not easily replaced. It’s an enormous loss to the entire cycling family," he continued. "I've said this time and again, but it is really time to work even harder at protecting both our runners and cyclists who used the roads daily to do their training."
