Danish exchange student Magnus Tuxen Rosen will be riding for a European team when he returns home in July.
The 17-year-old James Hargest College student, who has been making an impact in Southland cycling, will link up with the Team CK FIX Junior Elite Rødovre in Denmark to continue his passion for the sport.
"It is under-19, so it is not quite professional yet," he said.
"We have been invited to a couple of events in Luxembourg and Poland."
"Then I will ride all the big events in Denmark."
He rates the road cycling in Europe, as more difficult than in New Zealand.
"The road racing is a lot harder and it is more competitive," he said.
"But the track cycling is the same."
The student has been in the sport for five years, after starting on the road in his home country before gaining more experience on the track in Invercargill.
The highlight of his cycling experience in New Zealand was winning a silver medal at the Oceania Track Cycling Championships in the under-19 points race.
He is looking forward to attending the upcoming track nationals, where he will compete in the under-19 points and scratch races.
"I will try and go as good as I can there, but I don't know," he said.
"I have never tried it before so it is going to be exciting."
The Year 13 student has an advantage over many riders, because he is staying with his coach, Dave Beadle and family.
"Yeah I wanted to go on an exchange, and cycling is such a big part of my life," he said.
"I am staying with them, it is really good."
"I wanted to find a family that were cyclists."
The student will continue his studies when he is not on his bike and will be looking to go to university when he returns home.
"I will be studying as well, I have just started to send in my applications for colleges in Denmark," he said.
He is using Sunday's Ascot Park Hotel Criterium event to help him prepare for the upcoming New Zealand track cycling championships.
The race will include both junior and senior riders.
AT A GLANCE
What: Ascot Park Hotel Criteriums
Where: Ascot Park car park circuit
When: Sunday at 10.30am
Photo and article courtesy Stuff