Five cyclists have become the latest victims of crime at one of Cape Town’s popular recreational routes.
The cyclists were riding in a group from Durbanville to Franschoek on the Helshoogte Pass in Stellenbosch on Sunday when two men armed with knives attacked them.
Luckily they sustained only minor injuries. It is believed that that the two suspects intended to rob the cyclists off their bikes.
Dr Johan Louw was among the group of cyclists and is still in shock over the incident. “We went around quite a sharp bend and the next moment two guys armed with knives attacked us. They started going at us with their knives. I was riding at the back, the others managed to get away,” he said.
Louw said that he couldn’t turn around in time and the two men attacked him.
“The two guys came at me. One had a knife and the other had a stick and rocks. I tried to swerve and get away from him and I fell. I got up and the guy with a knife came at me and I just kinda held the bike between me and him,” he said.
Louw said they were extremely aggressive and pleaded with them to just take his bike and leave them alone. The suspects allegedly threw rocks at Louw’s friend who tried to defend himself. They then fled empty-handed.
A 32-year-old has been arrested by police and will appear in court, the other suspect has not been caught yet.
In a separate incident at the weekend, a group of 9 hikers on the Silvermine hiking trail between Silvermine Nature Reserve and Kalk Bay were attacked by two men who pretended to be hiking the same route.
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