RIP Burry Stander

[Sepia]

the Proteas have their black armbands on for John Commins, a fomrer player, who was stabbed and killed in a house robbery a few days ago....

 

also condolences to his family and friends

 

Radio commentator passed away last night.

[Starry nights]

RIP Burry - so sad today.

[Cassie]

http://cdn1.media.cyclingnews.futurecdn.net//2012/03/26/2/ce12_stg1_sm_01806_600.jpg

Here you go. What a machine...

 

THIS my friends....is why Burry will ALWAYS stay a legend!!! He cycled where others feared to tread....

[CatGirl]

THIS my friends....is why Burry will ALWAYS stay a legend!!! He cycled where others feared to tread....

 

yup! ek stem!

[scotty]

Seen a pic of the bike after, all i can say is YIKES !

[kosmonooit]

It's been a while since I felt such grief, I tell ya!

 

Never met him as such, but followed him and Cherise over the past few years, and as far a pro's goes certainly one of nicest from a Twitter follower POV.

 

I really feel for Cherise, she must be devastated. Only thing to say really is that the grief will pass, day by day she will feel better. I hope she does not give up cycling and will be driven for heightened success.

[Peaches]

Like so many others, I too felt SICK SICK SICK when I heard this last night.Just seemed like such a nice guy. Feel most for his Cherise and family - you are in our thoughts.

 

It is up to each cyclist to take the high road. You can hate every taxi driver / bad driver but it won't change a thing. People must stop talking on their cell phones while driving (handsfree or handset) - you aren't focusing on the road. We're all guilty at some point or another, put your phone in the boot and you won't be tempted. I was nearly taken out by a guy who was yakking away. We also have to be courteous to drivers, say thanks/wave when they stop for you at intersections, indicate where / when you are about to turn, give cars right of way, don't ride 3 abreast when you should clearly be riding single file. Doesn't help when some are pissing off motorists and others are keeping in line. The bad, inconsiderate, windgat cyclists endanger us all directly or indirectly.

Wear bright colours, flashing lights in low light.

 

The other day a taxi pulled infront of me to stop for his commuters, but he was some way away, I had to slow down behind him as i couldn't pass due to traffic - I showed him to go ahead but waited for me, waved me by till i passed, we exchanged a wave and thank you - they're not all bad, one must just give respect to get a little back. I know it's rich coming from someone who hasn't just lost their loved one, but we have to make the best of this - i'm a cyclist, my fiance is too - I shoot up prayers everyday we go out that he'll come home safely. This is the best I believe we can do.

[Guest Frail4Life]

To show my Mourning, shaven the Eyebrows off. Can't show too much Dishevel. Like in the bible when in mourning!

[MuddyMike]

Like so many others, I too felt SICK SICK SICK when I heard this last night.Just seemed like such a nice guy. Feel most for his Cherise and family - you are in our thoughts.

 

It is up to each cyclist to take the high road. You can hate every taxi driver / bad driver but it won't change a thing. People must stop talking on their cell phones while driving (handsfree or handset) - you aren't focusing on the road. We're all guilty at some point or another, put your phone in the boot and you won't be tempted. I was nearly taken out by a guy who was yakking away. We also have to be courteous to drivers, say thanks/wave when they stop for you at intersections, indicate where / when you are about to turn, give cars right of way, don't ride 3 abreast when you should clearly be riding single file. Doesn't help when some are pissing off motorists and others are keeping in line. The bad, inconsiderate, windgat cyclists endanger us all directly or indirectly.

Wear bright colours, flashing lights in low light.

 

The other day a taxi pulled infront of me to stop for his commuters, but he was some way away, I had to slow down behind him as i couldn't pass due to traffic - I showed him to go ahead but waited for me, waved me by till i passed, we exchanged a wave and thank you - they're not all bad, one must just give respect to get a little back. I know it's rich coming from someone who hasn't just lost their loved one, but we have to make the best of this - i'm a cyclist, my fiance is too - I shoot up prayers everyday we go out that he'll come home safely. This is the best I believe we can do.

Well said Peaches, 100% spot on. We are not dealing with cyclists, taxi drivers or motorists, we are dealing with people. When we are not on our bikes we are motorists and when we are, do we obey the rules of the road 100%, NO most of us do not, I know I dont. Change starts with us. Let us be the example when we are on our bikes. Instead of giving the finger to motorists when they hoot at cyclists riding 3 abreast ride in single file. There is no quick fix to the situation. Attitudes will not change overnight, it will take years. Our road infrastructure was never designed to accomodate cyclists. We need to take responsibillity for our own safety in whichever way we can and not expect others to do so. If cyclists expect equal rights on the road then they should have equal responsibillities on the road (which we currently do not). Cyclists riding through red robots or not stopping at stop streets should be subject to the same sanction as motorists.

 

My 2c.

 

Man, I am going to miss Burry, what a legend. Those Spez shoes will never be filled. Ever......

[Ryanpmb]

Such terrible news.

Has a memorial ride for Burry been planned in the Durban area yet?

 

Not Durbs, but there's a PMB night ride at Cascades this eve at 6. Meeting at the Townbush Rd Keg. All welcome...

Edited January 4, 2013 by Ryanpmb

[DJR]

To show my Mourning, shaven the Eyebrows off. Can't show too much Dishevel. Like in the bible when in mourning!

 

Post pictures Frail!

[Milkworx]

This link was tweeted....

 

http://www.looklocal.co.za/looklocal/content/en/kzn-south-coast/kzn-south-coast-news-general?oid=6705077&sn=Detail&pid=4196895&Burry-Stander-dies-on-the-road

[Coolcat]

First of all; RIP Burry Stander and sincere condolences to his wife, family and friends.

 

This incident is very tragic and the untimely death of Burry is a great loss to SA Cyling and the World of Cycling in general. Obviously the cycling fraternity are genuinely upset about it. Some news reports have stated that the driver of the vehicle who collided with Burry did stop and remained at the scene of the accident for the Police to arrive.

 

My view is that not all cyclists are reckless and neither are all drivers. Sometimes 'accidents' do happen. Having said that I think people should wait on the authorities to conclude their investigation and a report of their findings be released.

[Shebeen]

Still in a bit of shock here, can't believe that a hero like this can just disappear just like that. Definitely the first of my real heroes that is quite a bit younger than me, and his rise from the deep south coast to a world class mtber coincided with me having more and more fun on bikes. A defining moment for me was when he returned a really good result from the Sea Otter Classic(?2006) which was probably one of his first big overseas trips against elite riders....it showed that he really was something special.

 

We'll never know how good he really was, if he would find a way to combat Nino blasting off the front in the first lap. We'll never know if he would stay as a marathon/xc combo mtber or pick one. What he would have done after susi eventually became too old to keep up. Where he would have come in Rio 2016. PMB worlds this year.... Instead we're left wondering about the two epic wins(as well as the one where a simple lapse of concentration pretzeled his wheel and crumpled their odds-on chances). We'll never know the colour of olympic medal that he would have worn if not for his nightmare start in london 2012. We'll never see the Stander v2.0 kids dominating the spur school series. I suppose it really is an occupational hazard as a pro rider around the world, he isn't the first and won't be the last. It's just such a pity for us SA mtb fans that it's him, the golden boy, and he still had so much more in him.

 

I think it's an excellent idea that we share our Burry stories here, mainly because he really was the down to earth superstar that he appeared to be(as far as my limited contact can show). My story goes back a bit, but please indulge me anyway.

 

It must have been either 2007 or 2008 that Australian TV channel that was broadcasting the tour de france got some author to ghostwrite a fictitious junior DS' diaries of an unknown TdF team. It was brilliantly researched and satire of the highest quality. The unknown author 'tourrider' was never revealed, and I can't find it anywhere on the web anymore. Anyway, it got me thinking and when the olympics rolled around I thought I'd try my hand at it. Who better to profile than 'the dart' as he was calling himself then? I got hold of Burry and asked if he was ok with it, surprisingly he was totally into it and gave me free reign to write on anything but his personal life. It helped that he was a real solid character from the South Coast, had a terrible accent, taste in clothes/haircuts etc., had a bit of an eye for all things flashy and bling; but didn't take himself too seriously. Writing the Olympic Diaries was a lot of fun, and it definitely helped that we were 9 hours behind the action and I was working on a seriously easy project with imbecile co-workers way behind on their own schedules so I could sneak in a bit of fun before work started.

 

He was onboard again for London 2012, but by now he was a mainstream kid from Specialized on the S-works team so I chose to rather profile all of the cycling team rather than risk pissing off their marketing division. It didn't really work as well in my mind.

 

Fast forward to (what was probably his last race?) single speed world champs in winterton, the rumours were true and Burry was all dolled up and ready to ride at the start venue. Having a sponsored elite XC rider in the field does sort of go against the ethos of the whole event and there was some justified grumbling from many corners that he was even going to compete for the win. Credit to him that he rocked up in a proper dress up outfit, sourcing some 80's lumo spesh racing kit from their headquarters especially for it, and a home made Jack Parow peak that would show that he was prepared to give the privateers a real handicap of sorts. In the waiting around pre start I had a good chat with him and Cherise introduced myself as 'that guy from the Beijing diaries'. He was genuinely grateful for it, but reprimanded me for letting the standards slip.

 

The last time I saw Burry was not on a bike with a handful of the world's finest chasing him in the epic/nationals/worldcup/pick one, but in the winterton pub. There was a worry that as befitting a true pro he'd taken the prize(this time a tattoo) and gone home. Instead he was well into the party, enjoying all the silly barchat/technical talk/praise that came his way

and doing his best to avoid the mass of the drinks that were constantly heading his direction.

 

RIP Burry, I'll be at that ride tonight in green point.

[Mackie]

From the link posted previously, pictures unable to copy and paste via the iPad.

 

 

Burry Stander was a world-class cyclist. Pic by ...show more

The taxi driver has not been arrested.

 

03 January 2013 | David Rush

 

 

UPDATE: Friday, January 4, 9.30am

 

It has been confirmed that the driver of the taxi was in fact not arrested and charged.

He was, however, taken to the police station and a warning docket was taken.A case of culpable homicide will be investigated and the man is not in police custody. The docket will be referred to the senior public prosecutor for a decision.

 

 

 

This is the taxi involved in the accident.

 

>>

 

WORLD famous cyclist Burry Stander (25) of Umtentweni was killed in an accident while cycling in Shelly Beach this afternoon. Details are still to be confirmed via an official police report but it appears Stander was on his way back to Umtentweni after a training ride when the tragedy occurred.

 

At Stott Street, near Doo Twah chalets, he collided with a taxi, which was heading south and had turned right off the main South Coast road. Stander crashed into the passenger side of the taxi and died at the scene, his bike in pieces.

 

 

 

A sad testament to a man who died doing what he loved.

 

Tributes and messages of condolence have been posted on Facebook as friends and fans pour out their grief at the untimely death of this hugely popular man. Stander was one of South Africa's most exciting cycling prospects and immensely respected around the world. He recently raced to fifth place in the cross-country mountain biking discipline at last year's London Olympics. He held the lead for a section of the race.

 

It is believed the driver of the taxi has been arrested.

Edited January 4, 2013 by Mackie

[Navs]

We pay licences yearly to the cycling organizations.....why can't they put pressure on the government to make our roads safer?

My son had an accident early last year and was badly injured on an unmarked speed bump. Sent an email to Csa for legal advice/ point me in the right direction but no reply. I wander what they there for if we not seeing any benefit especially from the safety aspect. Paying for the last 5 years now. Exclude me this year.