The funeral has taken place of South African mountain biker Burry Stander, killed during a training ride last week when he was hit by a taxi. The service was held in the 25-year-old’s home town of Port Shepstone in KwaZulu-Natal. Meanwhile, Hadleigh Park Mountain Bike Club, based at the venue in Essex where Stander finished fifth in the Olympic cross-country race last summer, says there are plans to erect a memorial to him and it is also organising a ride in tribute to him.
Many mourners at the service yesterday at the Norwegian Settlers Church wore white, Stander’s favourite colour, which his widow Cherise – the pair got married just a few weeks before the Olympics last year – explained was his favourite colour. TV screens inside the church showed photos and videos of him, reports Independent Online.
Delivering the eulogy, his brother Duane said: “We will love you, we will miss you, and you will always cycle in our hearts for ever.” He added: “We will remember Burry. We must continue riding our bikes for health, fitness, racing or personal reasons and enjoy.”
He also revealed that as he had sorted through his brother’s belongings in recent days, he had found a notebook in which Burry, then aged 11, had written: “I will one day like to be a pro biker. I would like to win the World Cup. I would like to race for a great team.” All three of those boxes had been ticked.
Following Stander’s death, cyclists in South Africa have called for measures to be implemented to improve the safety of riders using the country’s roads. A spokesman for Fikile Mbalula, South Africa’s minister for sports and recreation, has said that a Cycle For Life awareness programme will be unveiled in April.
“We want more cycling lanes, and discussions are under way for the 1.5m passing rule,” said the spokesman, the latter a reference to calls for a minimum safe passing distance, which campaigners have nicknamed ‘the Burry Gap,’ the subject of a poignant cartoon in the Weekend Argus.
Hadleigh Mountain Bike Club in Essex, which tweeted that picture, has said on Twitter that is holding a ride in memory of Stander and to call for greater safety for cyclists, on Sunday 7 April. The ride is planned to begin at 10am, possibly beginning on the Olympic start loop. It has also said that there are plans for a permanent memorial to him at the venue.
I'd like to see a monarchist try to defend the crown estate charging £100k+ to a likely financially struggling council. Hmm, maybe actually I...
Updated story https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ckgz472y4p3o Little improvement Man questioned after child killed by car on pitch
What is it with brakes nowadays - nice and tight they catch on the wheel, loosen them slightly and hardly work. Are hub brakes better?
I had to look this one up: https://savingplaces.org/stories/a-tale-of-two-planners-jane-jacobs-and-...
What wokery is this? I thought those tech-bros were there to save us from the "mind virus"?
The Junior Minister appears pig ignorant of the law in this area....
Opposition to controversial East Bristol Liveable Neighbourhood ‘will filter away’ say council bosses...
I know it's not the same, but they are saying Quest will have free highlights.
Yeah but if you take away any chance of getting their licence back they'll turn into some kind of amoral road-bandit! * checks court records again ...
As far as I can see, the only place anything like that number appears in the source story is in the video, near the end, when they're chatting...