The organiser of the Uprising Race in the failed Soweto Uprising cycle race plans to host a cycle race in Mpumalanga.
Buhle Madlala said he is planning a ‘township cycling event’ in the province.
However, the president of Mpumalanga cycling, Danie Botha, said he is not aware of such a race.
Young cyclist injured
One of the country’s promising young cyclists, Ryno Schutte (21), was injured during a race.
He was taken to the hospital for X-rays for what appeared to be a broken collarbone.
The circumstances of how he was injured aren’t clear.
Schutte, from Potchefstroom, previously finished second in the Emperors Palace Road Classic.
On March 8, he achieved a remarkable feat when he finished in third place at the Cape Town Cycle Tour (formerly Argus). Schutte completed the challenging 109km route of the 48th cycle tour in 2:33:07.
What makes the achievement even more remarkable is that, as an under-23 participant, he was able to compete against the country’s best road cyclists. Ryan Gibbons took first place in 2:33:06.
‘Chaotic’ race
Participants describe the Soweto race as ‘chaotic’, and it was stopped before it had even started due to safety risks.
Race organisers Madlala and Mpume Mtintsol said in a statement, “We would like to acknowledge the commitment shown by team managers and cyclists in supporting the inaugural Uprising Race and appreciate the effort made by support staff and sponsors to attend the event. The safety of all participants, officials and spectators remains our highest priority. The race was started only after all event protocols, permissions and operational requirements were confirmed to be in place.
In the interests of rider safety
“Unfortunately, during the event, traffic management on certain sections of the route did not operate as planned, resulting in public vehicles gaining access to the race course. This created a situation that was deemed unsafe by the President of the Commissaires Panel, who decided to stop the race
in the interests of rider safety.”
• Dezirée du Plessis (45) was hit by a taxi during the Soweto Marathon on November 29 last year, and later died in hospital.
Du Plessis, who was a mother of two from Pretoria, was struck by the vehicle during the annual race and underwent emergency surgery due to an intracranial haemorrhage (bleeding on the brain).
The taxi driver was arrested and charged.
