Billy Monger was a professional racing driver until he lost both legs in a devastating crash in 2017 aged just 17. When in 2021 he took on a 140-mile kayak, walk and cycling challenge for Comic Relief, he had just three months to adapt to cycling as an amputee. “The hardest part wasn’t cycling itself – it was starting and stopping,” says the 25-year-old. “On my right leg, which is amputated below the knee, I can clip in and out like most cyclists. But my left leg, without a knee, makes twisting out of the pedal tricky.”
At first Monger used a mountain bike dropper seatpost on his road bike, allowing him to stay seated and lower the seatpost at stops. But when training for the 2024 Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii, he needed a more efficient solution. The breakthrough came with a magnetic cleat. “It enabled me to attach and detach quickly and made a huge difference,” he says. “After an hour of practice in a car park, we found a technique whereby I could start and stop safely.” The next day, he rode solo for over an hour without issues. “That’s when I knew I could do it.”
