Man arrested after death of veteran cyclist Anderson

A MAN is facing charges of culpable homicide and drunk driving after veteran cyclist Greg Anderson‚ 57, was killed in a hitand-run accident at the weekend.

Anderson’s team was second on the podium in the Absa Cape Epic this year in the veterans’ age group.

He was doing a training ride on Sunday morning in Hazyview‚ near the Kruger National Park, where he was on holiday‚ when he was hit by a vehicle.

A man had been arrested and was due to appear in the White River Magistrate’s Court today, Mpumalanga police spokesman Sergeant Gerald Sedibe said.

Many people paid tribute to Anderson on Twitter and Facebook, with “gentleman” frequently used to describe him.

Anderson’s 2015 Cape Epic cycling partner, Andrew McLean, said Anderson was an unbelievable gentleman off the bike.

“But when cycling, he was a fiercely competitive,” he said.

“He had two sides to him‚ which was often joked about.

“Greg would train really hard to do as well as he possibly could‚” McLean said.

“He would think nothing of finishing a training ride and turning around and doing an hour more.

“He is well-known in the cycling fraternity and has been riding for many years.”

Former Springbok rugby player turned mountain biker Joel Stransky tweeted: “Tragic news! Thoughts and prayers for Colleen and the boys!”

Anderson is survived by his wife, Colleen, and three sons – Robbie‚ Ryan and Nick.

He and Colleen were commuting between Johannesburg where he worked and Cape Town where his sons were at the University of Cape Town.

In 2013‚ the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup U23 men’s 2008 and 2009 cross-country champion and Cape Epic rider Burry Stander was killed by a taxi driver.

That driver was sentenced to three years for culpable homicide. McLean, who is the director of Cycle Lab‚ a group of cycling stores‚ said cycling deaths happened all over the world – but in South Africa things were a little worse for cyclists.

“South Africa does not have a culture of cycling,” he said.

South African drivers were intolerant of cyclists, while in Europe drivers were more tolerant and careful of cyclists, McLean said.

South Africa also had a culture of not following the rules of the road.

“Drivers think nothing of texting while driving, which is a danger to cyclists.

“It is easy to drift over onto the side of a road when texting,” he said.