Invercargill brothers Hayden and Corbin Strong are continuing their family's strong interest in cycling, by riding in the Yunca Junior Tour of Southland which starts on Friday.
The pair got into the sport after tagging along with their father to club days.
Big brother Hayden, 17, who will ride in the under-19 event said, "I have been riding for seven years now, I followed Dad down to a few races and it went from there. Dad is a club road rider, we all go down there on Saturday, it is a bit of a family affair."
Despite growing up on the flat Southland plains, both brothers enjoy the hill climbs.
"I haven't done too much training, but I will see how I go. I will go for the King of the Mountains, I like the hills. We both like the hills," he said.
Hayden is hoping for a future in the sport and is aiming for selection in the New Zealand to race overseas next year.
"I finish school this year at Southland Boys' High School and I am going to have a gap year next year to focus on cycling. It will be my last year as a junior. I will see what I can do, if it is a hobby or a career," he said.
"Next year there is track nationals and there is a junior world track cycling championships team which gets selected from that, and I want to try and make that, and there is also the road world championships."
Because the brothers are in different age groups, they don't usually race against each other.
"When we are in club races, it is a good battle," he said.
"I am hoping to try to win the under-17 tour and the yellow jersey but also the polka dot jersey as well," he said.
Corbin is familiar with the Junior Tour of Southland event.
"This is my fifth tour, I rode my first tour as a first year under-13," he said.
Like his brother, Corbin wants to ride internationally in the future.
"One day I would like to ride in the pro tour circuit overseas and make a career of it. I also ride track, so when I am eighteen-years-old I want to make the junior world track cycling championships," he said.
Nearly 100 riders from throughout New Zealand will race in the Junior Tour of Southland throughout the province this weekend.
It starts on Friday 2 October with an individual time trial followed by a Kermesse at Teretonga Park, with the four road stages being raced over the following two days.
Saturday will be tough for riders in the "Beast of the East" and "New Vale Circuit" stages before the race finishes on Sunday, with an inner city criterium, followed by the sixth and final stage from Grove Bush to Springhills.
The event includes under-13 to under-19 grades for both male and female riders.
The 32nd Yunca Junior Tour of Southland starts a big month of cycling in Southland, with the Yunca Junior Track Cycling Carnival and the 2016 Oceania Track Cycling Championships on next week at the SIT Zero Fees Velodrome, and the Tour of Southland from November 1 to 7.
Caption: Brothers Hayden Strong (left), 17, and Corbin Strong, 15, will ride in the Junior Tour of Southland.
At a glance
WHAT: Yunca Junior Tour of Southland
WHERE: Throughout Southland
WHEN: Friday to Sunday.
Article and photo courtesy Stuff