Burry Stander died yesterday in an accident on the KZN south coast(SABC)
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The cycling community is planning nationwide memorial rides for top mountain cyclist Burry Stander. He died yesterday in an accident on the KwaZulu-Natal south coast. The 25-year-old Stander represented South Africa in the 2012 London Olympic Games and was the 2009 under-23 world champion.
Chairperson of the KZN mountain biking commission, Charles Roberts says, "We should be outraged at every single cyclist that is killed by a vehicle on the roads - but the cycling community is particularly outraged by this and is planning memorial rides all over the country."
He says, "At the moment we have been talking about it from this weekend right through in two weeks’ time down in Shelly beach, but it is not confirmed yet. There is a lot of organisation and planning that needs to be done, but the cycling community is very tuned in to the digital media so Facebook and Twitter will be able to galvanised something at a heartbeat so, it could happen this weekend."
The driver of the minibus-taxi allegedly involved in Stander's death, has been questioned and released.
Government must also consider reserving areas for cyclists and road runners who use local roads
The South Africa Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc) has called on authorities to take action against the reckless behaviour of taxi drivers on South African roads.
Government must also consider reserving areas for cyclists and road runners who use local roads, says Sascoc Chief Executive Tubby Reddy.
Reddy says, "The issue around taxis and what they do on the road - where are the authorities on the roads? I think that is the question that ought to be asked very seriously. There are demarcated areas for cyclists and runners and I think the authorities and different sectors - transport, safety - need to start looking at these issues."
