One of the country’s most well-known cyclists, Ryno Schutte, sustained a serious injury when he collided with a motor vehicle during the Uprising Race in Soweto on June 16.

Schutte, who is the leader in the men’s section of the Mzansi National Road Series, had an opportunity to extend his lead during the race on Youth Day.

A few kilometres in, Schutte hit a vehicle at a four-way intersection. The vehicle gained access to the route and hit him, who at that stage was racing at nearly 60km/h.

Schutte explained to Wouter Pienaar what happened, “I was busy chasing, and together with a couple of other riders, bumped into the car as we were racing.”

Schutte sustained a broken collarbone and had to be transported via his team car. The ambulance arrived on the scene 10 minutes later, and he was transported to the nearest hospital for treatment. He has since undergone a successful operation and will rest for the next two weeks.

“The race was cancelled after the incident, with a charity race taking place thereafter, which replaced the competitive race.”

According to the race organisers of the 2026 Uprising Race, Buhle Madlala and Mpume Mtintso, 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,” Madlala said in a media statement.
Madlala is also planning a ‘township race’ in Mpumalanga.

When the Middelburg Observer contacted Cycling South Africa, they referred the paper to the race organisers and sent a lawyer’s letter with the word ‘Warning’.

• 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.

• Two cyclists were injured during the provincial championships this year when they collided with cars.