Paralysed cyclist ‘cured’ by bike crash

A Paralympic cyclist may represent her country in the Olympics after a bike crash miraculously gave her back the use of her legs. Monique van der Vorst, 27, was paralysed from the waist down and had been confined to a wheelchair for 13 years.

Powering a bike with her hands, she had represented the Netherlands at the Paralympic Games and won two silver medals. But last year, after being knocked off her bike, her feet started to tingle, and within months, she was able to walk again.

She now competes on a standard bicycle and was this week given one of just 11 places on a top women’s professional cycling team. Her dream is to ride in the 2016 Olympics.

Team spokesman Luuc Eisenga said: ‘It seems like a miracle.’ Miss van der Vorst was a sporty child who enjoyed tennis and hockey. At 13, she had just taken up cycling when a routine ankle operation resulted in nerve damage and left one leg paralysed from the hip down.

Confined to a wheelchair, she took up hand-cycling and competed nationally and internationally, winning six European and three world championship titles.
She has now swapped her hand-bike for a regular model and has started racing competitively.