HIMEVILLE – A man suffered a heart attack and died while taking part in the KAP sani2c mountain bike stage race in KwaZulu Natal on Wednesday, race organisers have said.
Christo Pieterse from Centurion in Gauteng, aged 39, had completed 48 kilometres of the 83-kilometre first stage of the three-day Adventure version of the event when he suffered an Acute Myocardial Infarction.
Life support paramedics attended to him at the scene, and he was taken to Hilton Life hospital where he was declared dead on arrival.
Glen Haw, KAP sani2c founder and race organiser, said: “We are devastated about this. It is the first time in the 14-year history of the event that we have lost a life, and Christo has done the race five times before.
“He was an experienced rider. We are in contact with the family and send them our deepest condolences.”
Pieterse leaves a wife and two boys aged 6 and 9.