A 34-year-old cyclist who suffered a heart attack during the Pick’nPay 94.7 Cycle Challenge was ”quite stable and doing very well” Netcare spokesperson Mande Toubkin said.
He was rushed to Unitas Hospital in Pretoria on Sunday after suffering a heart attack 15km from the finish-line, said event organiser Tanya Harford.
He was in a stable condition in the hospital’s intensive care unit, where he was being treated for a ”myocardial infarction”, she said.
The cyclist was between watering points nine and 10 when he experienced chest pains. Harford said he had stopped and called for an ambulance, which took him to hospital.
This was the first time he had entered the cycle challenge — punted as the world’s second biggest timed cycle race.
Harford said he had been towards the back of the field, which suggested he was not a seasoned cyclist, but a fun-rider.
Netcare medical personnel treated 123 athletes at the end of the race — 12 for dehydration, three for abdominal pain, and 36 for abrasions, said Harford.
One patient, who sustained a suspected back injury in a fall was taken to Sunninghill Clinic for X-rays after crossing the finish line.
He was one of ten people who were admitted to Sunninghill hospital and had been discharged, Toubkin said. Other riders were treated for a dislocated shoulder, a fractured wrist and a lacerated forehead.
Toubkin said seven people had been admitted to Milpark hospital. Two of those were still being treated. One was receiving stitches for a cut and the other had a fractured leg.
Another 208 people were treated for minor injuries at various water points throughout the race.
Over 100 physiotherapists, chiropractors and massage therapists were stationed at the finish line and another 80 on the route to dealt with cyclists’ aching muscles.
The elite men’s 180km race was won by Antonio Salamone in a time of 4:26:55s, with the title in the women’s 94.7km going to Anke Erlank in a time of 2:39:40s.
Erlank said she had had a fantastic time and a ”superb win”.
All the odds had been against her, she said, explaining that she had been racing on her own, and not as part of a team.
Ecstatic that it had all worked out well, Erlank said the weather had been the best cyclists could have asked for — a balmy 28C — and they had ”owned the roads for a day” with absolutely no traffic at all.
Traffic-wise, there were few of the problems of last year when ”everyone was angry because they couldn’t get to where they wanted to go”, said Johannesburg metro police spokesperson, Wayne Minnaar.
Motorists had been well-informed and had used alternative routes this year. The only traffic build-up had been on major roads such as Empire and Jan Smuts, and on the N1 South at Woodmead. ”From an accident point of view: zero,” he added.
Police were also unaware of any problems. The 40 000 to 50 000 people believed to have filled Kyalami Race Track at any one time were ”well behaved,” said North Rand police spokesperson, Superintendent Eugene Opperman.
While no reports of cars stolen had come to his attention, he said it was possible these would filter through only on Monday.
By the time the roads were ”officially handed back to the City of Johannesburg” at 4pm, just less than 23 000 cyclists had crossed the finish line, said Harford. – Sapa