Reuben van Niekerk has been cycling for more than 20 years. He lost his leg, below the knee, in 2008 when a truck crashed into his motorcycle. He resumed his passion for cycling only one year later and has had his eye on completing the Epic since volunteering at the event in 2012.

He is an accomplished track, road and mountain bike cyclist who made history in 2014 by becoming the first lower limb amputee to complete the Absa Cape Epic Challenge. He then went on to become the first person with any type of disability to join the prestigious Amabubesi club for three-time finishers of the event in 2016.

He has been a Jumping Kids ambassador since 2009.

In 2025, Reuben signed up to take on the Absa Cape Epic mountain bike stage race with team-mate, Dane Wilson as part of Ossur South Africa’s What’s Your Epic campaign.