FAREWELL BURRY
Emotional goodbye to cycling icon
FAMILY and friends of two-time Olympic mountain biker Burry Stander struggled to hold back their tears as video tributes were played and pictures displayed at his funeral service yesterday.
Stander would “cycle in our hearts forever”, mourners were told.
More than 100 people packed the Norwegian Settlers Church in Port Shepstone, mostly dressed in white to honour a family request to wear Stander’s favourite colour.
The cyclist died after colliding with a taxi in Shelley Beach, Port Shepstone, while on a training ride last week Thursday.
There were more tears as the family approached the open casket and viewed Stander for the last time.
Stander’s brother Duane said the family had been very blessed with the love and support shown to them by many people since the tragedy.
Addressing Stander’s widow, Duane said: “Cherise, no one can describe what you are going through. He was always going to find the one and you are that one. You were there to share his dreams with him. Thank you for loving him, thank you for being there for him, and thank you for meaning so much to him,” he said.
Duane told the mourners to remember Stander, but not be sad for him. “Let us ride our bikes and enjoy it. Since the age of 12, Burry had this dream. What makes it special is that he made it come through against all odds,” he said.
Duane said that during the few rides they have had since Stander’s death, they felt free and in control.
“My parents were his pillars of strength. They were always there for him. Even in his last moments, they were there. With parents like ours, it’s hard not achieve your dreams. We love and miss you. You will cycle in our hearts forever,” he said.
Bobby Behan, Stander’s team manager at Specialised Cycling SA described Stander as an incredible athlete. “There was so much more to him than cycling. I have so much respect for him. He was not a selfish individual,” he said.
Behan said Stander was passionate about his family and told Stander’s parents, Mandy and Charles, that they had done an incredible job raising their three sons.
“When I think of you, Charles, I think of you as his best friend. He will be missed…” Behan said.
A video of tributes from teammates was played, during which Stander was described as an incredible person in many different ways.
Patrick Hlongwane, the KZN president of the SA Sports Confederation and Olympic Committees, who attended the funeral, said legislation would be changed following Stander’s death. However, he said he had just received the news and did not yet have details.
“He was a champion in the country and was a very talented young man. His contribution to the sporting fraternity will be dearly missed,” he said.
In 2011, Stander became the first South African to win the Cape Epic stage race in the Western Cape with Swiss partner Christoph Sauser, and the pair defended their title last year. He was fifth in the men’s cross country race at the London Olympics.
Stander was laid to rest at his family’s plot on the Bali Hai Farm in Port Shepstone.
Taxi driver Njabulo Nyawose faces a charge of culpable homicide or an alternative charge of reckless and negligent driving. He was released with a warning earlier this week and ordered to appear back in court on March 22.