Two people died on Sunday in the Cape Town Cycle Tour.
Race director David Bellairs confirmed this in a statement on Sunday afternoon.
“The first was a trauma incident just before 9am this morning on the M3 southbound in which a group of 20 cyclists were involved in a pile up. One of the cyclists succumbed to the injuries he sustained in this incident. His family has asked that we respect their privacy at this time and we will not be releasing his name.”
He added: “In the second incident a male participant succumbed to a suspected heart attack at Smitswinkel Bay at approximately 10:22am. Once again we are respecting the family’s wishes and not releasing his name.”
Cape Town Cycle Tour Trust said: “Our most sincere condolences go out to the families of both these participants.” Over 30‚000 cyclists participated in the 40th edition of the 109km race on Sunday.
Nolan Hoffman won the men's elite race in a time of 2 hours 37 minutes and 30 seconds.