How a hospital dream transformed adaptive mountain biking

Tom gets featured on BBC Sport Wales along side limb difference rider Morgan Jones.

Tom Wheeler's prep for a mountain bike ride is a little different to most.

As well as putting on his helmet and gloves, he straps on a one of a kind arm brace - a piece of adaptive technology he built himself.

Fifteen years ago, Wheeler lost the use of his right arm in a crash at a race in Rheola, near Neath in south Wales.

"Right at the end of a track my hand caught a branch and I went flying over the handlebars," he said.

"It was a huge impact. I just assumed I'd dislocated my shoulder. Then we realised that I couldn't feel my right arm."

In fact, Wheeler had pulled out 80% of the nerves connecting his right arm to the rest of his body, losing sensation and movement.

But even from his hospital bed, Wheeler was plotting his return to the sport he loves.

Sam Dixon-French

BBC Sport Wales

View the full article including video here: BBC Sport.