Burry Stander

Burry Willie Stander (16 September 1987 – 3 January 2013) was a South African mountain biker, the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup under-23 men's cross-country 2009 world champion.

In the 2008 Summer Olympics, held in Beijing, Stander finished 15th in the cross-country mountain bike race.

Stander paired up with Christoph Sauser in 2009 for the Absa Cape Epic.

Although the team only managed 6th place that year, they then came back in 2010 to claim 2nd place.

In 2010, Stander rode across the line in third place at the Mountain Bike World Championships in Mont-Sainte-Anne, Quebec, Canada.

Finally in 2011 Stander and Sauser finished in 1st place, making Stander the first South African rider to win the Absa Cape Epic.

He won the Absa Cape Epic back to back with team partner Christoph Sauser in 2011 and 2012.

In the 2012 Summer Olympics, held in London, Stander finished 5th in the cross-country mountain bike race.

In 2012 the team were victorious once again, winning the Prologue and four of the seven stages of the marathon stage race.

In the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London he finished 5th.

Stander hailed from Port Shepstone in KwaZulu-Natal where he attended an Afrikaans Primary and High School (Suid-Natal).

He married fellow cyclist Cherise Taylor in May 2012 on the beach of Port Shepstone.

Stander died on 3 January 2013 after being hit by a taxibus while finishing a training ride and returning to his Concept Cyclery Shop in South Africa.

The KwaZulu-Natal minibus taxi driver who struck Stander down was convicted of culpable homicide on 17 April 2015 at the Port Shepstone Magistrates Court, and was sentenced to three years in prison.