Johannesburg - Andrew McLean was cycling at 60km/h downhill when he crashed into the carcass of a buffalo on the edge of Cedar Road in Fourways on Wednesday morning.
The SuperSport presenter and professional cyclist tried to manoeuvre his bike over the dead animal but crashed into it. He broke his hand and fractured a joint in his shoulder.
McLean was riding with Mark Warren and Mark Cheyne at about 5am.
The two escaped with a few grazes but all three bicycles were written off.
“Steam was rising from the dead buffalo like it had been running when the three of us crawled off the street after colliding into it,” said McLean. “We had to move off the road quickly to avoid cars.”
A security company patrolling the area called an ambulance.
Before emergency personnel arrived, Mike Kommitsis, who lives next to the scene, pulled out of his driveway and a security guard shone a flashlight at him and asked if the dead buffalo was his.
“I thought to myself: you have got to be kidding me; all I have are two dogs in my yard,” said Kommitsis.
“Minutes earlier, I heard a big bang and thought it was an accident. I told my wife I could not stay for coffee because if it’s an accident, I’d be stuck in traffic,” he said.
Kommitsis saw the cyclists sitting down on the side of the road behind the buffalo carcass. An ambulance was approaching by the time he left for work.
Community newspaper Fourways Review reported that Dr Peter Geertsma of Gauteng Veterinary Services confirmed the animal had escaped from a nearby farm the week before.
The cause of death remains a mystery.
The carcass was taken to the Lion Park near Lanseria at about 9am on Wednesday, with help from the Randburg SPCA.
By that time, someone had hacked off its tail as a souvenir, according to the SPCA’s Jessica Long.
Lion Park operations manager Scott Simpson said the Department of Agriculture took a sample from the buffalo cow on Thursday to test for illnesses such as foot-and-mouth and TB that buffaloes often carry.
Simpson said the animal was neither tagged nor branded to show who it belonged to.
“Two of the buffalo’s legs were broken from either being hit or falling off a fast-moving vehicle, and it had a severe head injury.”
He said the carcass was disposed of by incineration.
Only after two to three weeks can McLean start training indoors for a while before cycling again, his doctor has told him.
The Star