Watch: MetCon Adaptive Category | 2026 Nedbank Gravel Burn

Bryce Carter finished the inaugural Nedbank Gravel Burn in 2025 on an adaptive handcycle: seven days, 750 kilometres, living in the Burn Camps as well as navigating them. When people talk about how tough the race is, event founder Kevin Vermaak still points to Bryce’s finish.

“Bryce Carter finished Nedbank Gravel Burn. So ‘tough’ is indeed a relative term,” Vermaak has written. “It was one helluva achievement, not only completing the course, but also overcoming the challenges that living in our Burn Camps brings.”

That single achievement paved the way for Nedbank Gravel Burn’s first adaptive bike category. Carter returns. Swiss Paralympian Manuela Schär joins him, bringing Mark Skarupa and Ramon Stauber with her. The field races from 25 to 31 October 2026. MetCon, the precious metals refinery behind the race medals and the 24ct gold rings set into the trophies, is sponsoring the category so access can be built across the whole experience.

Carter was 20 when an accident on a pump track rendered him a paraplegic. After a couple of months of intensive rehabilitation he acquired his adaptive bike as part of the next phase of his recovery. Vermaak called Carter’s dad Matthew and asked if Bryce would ride the Burn. Carter said yes immediately.

Burn Camp life for Carter was not easy. Arms dead after each stage, his father pushed him between the tents, showers and lunch on ground completely unsuitable for a wheelchair user. The peloton helped on the route: riders put their bikes down at river crossings and carried him across.

At the race he met two Spanish riders, a father and daughter. Afterwards they invited him to Transpyr: another seven-day ride, across the Pyrenees.

“I wouldn’t ever have met them if it wasn’t for the Burn,” Carter said.

On the flight to Spain via Zurich, he met Schär at the gate. She had just won the Cape Town Marathon wheelchair race and was heading home. After Transpyr he went to Zurich, spoke with her about life in a wheelchair, learned she also rode a Bowhead, and asked her to come race Nedbank Gravel Burn.

“I was like, awesome, you’re super fit, you want to come to Nedbank Gravel Burn? And that’s how it started to get a bit more traction on having a whole Bowhead category,” Carter said. She said yes.

“Getting riders like Manuela, Bryce, Mark and Roman to the start line is not enough. Accessibility has to cover the whole week. Through our sponsorship of the adaptive bike category, we help with travel and hosting before the race, getting the bikes here, accessible ablutions and geo-tracks in Burn Camp, battery support on the route, and people on the ground when riders need them. We aim to remove the barriers from the journey, through the Burn Camps and out on the course,” said Grant Crosse of MetCon.

“Personally, I’m very excited and proud that we can welcome adaptive riders to Nedbank Gravel Burn,” Vermaak said.

Carter’s return will see a smoother Burn Camp experience and not forgetting, it’s a race. Adaptive riders start with a support rider: last year his dad assisted; this year it’s Juanita Mackenzie. Vermaak is asking the 2026 field to match the Burn spirit that carried Carter across those rivers.

“Doing the event last year and knowing that it will be better this year thanks to MetCon is really great, because it’s made it possible for us to soak up the experience and race like everyone else,” Carter said. “It’s a category now. I’ve got to try win.”

One rider showed us it’s possible and MetCon is helping bring the race to more athletes and making it a reality.