Paralympians conquer Cape Epic: ‘Our disability overcome again’

The story the two wrote together in Cape Epic starts with Ewoud Vromant's wish list. After a busy Paralympics, he wants to do something completely different for a while, purely for fun and for kicks. ‘With Louis, I built up a beautiful friendship in the Belgian team in recent years,’ says Vromant. ‘We took on this challenge together because we both felt the need to do something different for a while.’

Finishing the Cape Epic on one leg... why does a person start that? ‘I asked myself at many moments during the race why I was doing this. It was scorching hot and leaden with the many altimeters,’ says Ewoud. ‘On the one hand, I think I was driven by this new confrontation with my disability. For people like me, that race is actually not suitable. Jumping on one leg, sliding up on the rump... that's not normally part of a mountain bike race. It gives me satisfaction that this challenge succeeded, although I could enjoy it especially during the last, quiet stage. We overcame our handicap. In doing so, I have to thank Louis: without him I would never be able to do this. One of the photos shows how Louis pushes me up, which for me symbolises the highlight of our adventure: that's where extreme challenge, teamwork, friendship and a unique landscape all came together. A beautiful moment!’

‘On the other hand, this was the ideal moment in my career. After a paralympic year in 2024, my goals in 2025 lie later in the summer with the Para-Cycling World Championships in Ronse and the autumn with the Track World Championships in Rio de Janeiro.’

For Louis Clincke, the Cape Epic was an extreme challenge especially in terms of heat. ‘One day we left at 7am and I had measured an average temperature of 40 and a maximum of 51 degrees after the ride,’ says Louis, who enjoyed the race and the positive attention to their achievement. That he and Ewoud accomplished this with their disability was very satisfying. For Clincke, though, there was the confrontation with his non-visible disability. ‘I have nerve damage in my wrists, so that really bothered me early on. On the other hand, I have a drop foot, which makes it harder for me to transfer my power to my pedals. Those limitations are obviously less visible, which automatically makes you less appealing to the imagination than that muscular bull on one leg that I shadowed and guided for days on end when he needed help. I am super proud of Ewoud's achievement, and sometimes had tears in my eyes when I saw him climbing a mountain. Personally, I like being there for someone else, it gives me satisfaction. It was nice to achieve this goal together.’ 

Cape Epic is an annual multi-day race for mountain bikers in the Western Cape, South Africa. The race consists of a prologue and seven stages and this year covers 567 km with 15,300 altimeters. Professional mountain bikers from all over the world come to South Africa as pairs, forming 680 teams. To qualify for the finish, teammates must stay together throughout the race. The times before the finish of each stage are added together to determine the winning team in each category at the end of the race. The course changes every year, but the race has always taken place in the Western Cape.

Ewoud Vromant is the reigning world time trial champion in the MC2 class for riders with physical disabilities. The Flemish rider underwent a right upper leg amputation in 2013 after a malignant sarcoma was discovered in his hamstrings. With Para-cycling, he found a sport where he can push his limits at a high level. Meanwhile, he is a two-time and reigning world time trial champion, world endurance record holder and also picked up 3 medals at the Paralympic Games.

Louis Clincke was in the rehabilitation centre of Ghent University Hospital at the same time as Ewoud Vromant, although he was there a lot longer after suffering several serious injuries in a motorbike accident. Clincke's injuries include a drop foot (left), which reduces his power transfer when cycling. His disability is less visible than that of his friend Ewoud. Something that is confronting at times, but which they both also wanted to make discussable in Cape Epic. After all, many disabilities are not visible.