Burry Stander: A Tribute to a Champion by Ridaa Ismail
“Cowards die many times before their deaths, the valiant never taste of death but once.”
The night is cold and still. The roads are quiet. The stars are veiled by a white cloth stretching across a weary world. Perhaps even they are weeping, for tonight, South Africa mourns the loss of a champion.
In a sport so highly tainted with politics and illegalities, Burry Stander, one of South Africa’s brightest mountain biking talents, was a breath of fresh air. I first met him at the 2012 Absa Cape Epic, where I was conducting interviews for television after an arduous stage in searing heat. While the other riders were naturally aloof during their interviews, Burry leapt in with the enthusiasm of someone whose passion for his work surpassed any pain or fatigue. On the bike he would do anything to win. Off it he was a man with no airs or graces. He ate and breathed mountain biking. That is all he wanted to do.
Burry Stander was born in Port Shepstone on 16 September 1987 and began riding mountain bikes at the tender age of 10 with his father and brothers on their farm just outside Port Shepstone, on the KwaZulu Natal coast. It became an addiction and an obsession for the young Burry. All he dreamt of doing was riding his bike faster and longer.
He spent his hours paging through American mountain biking magazines; dreaming of flowing singletrack and of meeting his heroes. Winning South African and African U13 titles in 1999 were the first steps towards realizing his dream of becoming a professional mountain biker.
The early years were hard. Mountain biking wasn’t nearly as prominent a sport in South Africa as it is today and the equipment was heavy and cumbersome, but this did not deter the young man. These early difficulties moulded Burry into the man he was: an independent spirit who relied on his own true grit and determination without the benefit of any professional coaching.
Armed with a plethora of junior mountain biking experience in South Africa, Burry packed his bags and headed to the USA in 2005 to race against the best. The professional mountain biking world stood up and watched with eager eyes as the 18 year old swept victories in 4 of the 5 races in the national series, culminating in a professional contract with the GT International Mountain Bike Team in 2006.
Burry improved at a rate of knots and his exploits earned him a call up to Team South Africa for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, competing in the Men’s XC Mountain Bike Race, finishing a credible 15th. His breakthrough year, however, was 2009 where, now riding for the Specialized team, he was crowned the U23 World Cup Champion.
Burry will probably be most remembered for his partnership with legendary Swiss mountain biker Christoph Sauser. The duo, riding under the banner of Team 36ONE-Songo-Specialized, won the Absa Cape Epic, widely regarded as the Tour de France of mountain biking, back to back in 2011 and 2012.
What made this feat even more remarkable was the fact that Burry was a cross-country (XC) rider, a mountain biking discipline that takes place on highly technical courses with short, sharp climbs and rolling singletrack; a discipline requiring explosive power. The Absa Cape Epic however is a Marathon Stage Race, where endurance and stamina is key. For a mountain biker to alternate and be successful between both disciplines is remarkable, and hints at the precocious talent that Burry was on a mountain bike.
This balance was evident not only in his sport but his private life as well. His first love remained his wife Cherise, a kindred spirit and fellow cyclist. If ever there was a testament to the character of the man, it’s the sense of loss and emptiness felt not only by those close to him but by rivals and fellow mountain bikers. All were shocked and saddened by the loss of someone who, while being a fierce competitor, was a dear friend to many in the mountain biking fraternity.
We might be scratching around trying to find some form of closure at this tragic time, none more so than his close family and friends. A life filled with promise, tragically taken away at 25. How do we rebuild the broken pieces? If anything Burry’s death will hopefully help to address the desperate need for improved safety on our roads, and to enforce stricter control on reckless driving, be it by a taxi or a car. The wave of anger and outrage has sparked activism and already started the cogs turning towards pushing for a safer future for commuters and cyclists alike. If there’s a shred of closure, it is that this will hopefully help save thousands of lives.
The real tragedy however is this: the world said goodbye to Burry Stander, before they even had a chance to say hello.