Top KZN cyclist seriously injured in Tswane race

One of KwaZulu-Natal’s top cyclists has been forced to give up his greatest passion due to serious injuries he sustained after taking a tumble at the Tswane Mountain Bike Challenge in March.

Gerhard ‘Big-G’ Engelbrecht, income manager at the AbaQulusi municipality, has been cycling competitively for 18 years but has been warned by medical professionals that further injury could land him in a wheelchair for life.

Mr Engelbrecht said he usually manoeuvres over natural terrain easily but could not manage the BMX tracks built along the route, at the speed he was cycling.

“The humps were as big as a caravan and I took a tumble on the last portion of the BMX track. I somersaulted and landed on my back. My feet were secure in the pedals so when I landed with the bike on top of me my hip took some strain,” recalls Mr Engelbrecht.

A break in the hip bone right above the femur took four hours in surgery to fix.

“At first, I didn’t even realise how badly I was hurt. I tried to get up but I couldn’t move my legs. Fortunately, the ambulance was close and the hospital was only 20 minutes away,” he continued.

Three days later, Mr Engelbrecht had to be admitted to a high care ward after clots formed in his lungs. He remained in high care for 10 days. After nearly three months in recovery at home, Mr Engelbrecht returned to work at the municipality on Wednesday.

“It was when I was in hospital that I decided that I could never again put my family through the emotional pain and the fear that they went through after my accident. My motto is ‘never give up’ and my cycling mates can’t believe it, but I had to give up my passion because I cannot risk ending up in a wheelchair.”

Mr Engelbrecht began cycling in order to get fit, but it wasn’t long before his interest in cycling developed from exercise to competitive sport. Over the past 18 years, he has held the title for best mountain bike cyclist in KZN in the 50 years and older category for two years in a row. He has also competed several times in the Cape Argus and in Swaziland’s Imvelo Mountain Bike Race. His commitment and passion for cycling has even encouraged friends and colleagues to take up the sport.

Now that Mr Engelbrecht has given up cycling, he intends to divert his energy toward building an intricate model train track with scenery.

“My friends and family don’t believe that I have the patience or the time to complete the project but I have already visited hobby shops and I have a good idea of what I want to achieve. I love working with my hands and this will be something I will be able to pass on to my grandchildren when the time comes,” concluded Mr Engelbrecht.

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