Young Northland cyclists striving for success on the national stage

Northland's young cyclists striving for success Kurt Coetzee, 20 (left), Trevor Coetzee, 15, Bree Monaghan, 15, Jorja Swain, 18, and Tiree Robinson, 14. Photo / Michael Cunningham

Five of Northland's young cycling talents are joining forces in an effort to revive youth road cycling in the region.

Kurt Coetzee, 20, Jorja Swain, 18, Bree Monaghan, 15, Trevor Coetzee, 15, and Tiree Robinson, 14, all cycle together on Tuesdays in Whangārei with the Marsden Wheelers Road Cycling Club.

iree Robinson, 14 (left), and Bree Monaghan, 15, lead the pack. Photo / Michael Cunningham

The crew formally announced themselves as ones to watch for the future after impressive results at Auckland's Tour de Ranges last month.

Trevor and Bree were the pick of the bunch with first-place finishes in their respective races. Trevor took out the open 65km race while Bree won the open 30km race, only one second ahead of Tiree, who finished third overall.

Kurt was second in the 20-29 age group for the 110km race while Jorja was the sixth-best female rider across the same distance.

Kurt Coetzee (left), Jorja Swain, Trevor Coetzee, Bree Monaghan and Tiree Robinson. Photo / Supplied

However, cycling is only one string to the bows of these talented athletes.

Brothers Kurt and Trevor both started their sporting careers in running and triathlons with the latter set to compete at the Oceania Open Jiu Jitsu Championships in Auckland next weekend.

Whangārei Girls' High School student Bree, also a triathlete, won the under-16 female division of the Northland triathlon championships in February last year, as well as finishing fourth in the under-16 female division in the NZ Sprint Duathlon National championships in August.

Tiree, a Kerikeri High School student who travels to Whangārei weekly for training, was a relative newcomer to road cycling after her interest was piqued through mountain biking and a fourth-placed finish at the national secondary school mountain biking championships in Dunedin in October.

Tiree Robinson, a relative newcomer to both road cycling, surprised all with a fourth-placed finish at last year's mountain bike nationals. Photo / Supplied

As for Jorja, an unfortunate ACL tear put an end to her promising efforts for Northland in the hockey and running arenas.

However, the Whangārei Girls' High School graduate has taken well to cycling, representing New Zealand at an under-19 level as well as racing in Australia and China.

The five cyclists were often some of the very few young Northland riders who travelled to races around the country, something Kurt wanted to change.

"I'm trying to build something because Northland youth cycling just died for a couple of years," he said.

Kurt's journey in cycling had been far from smooth after an horrific crash in 2017 left him in a wheelchair with a cracked right knee joint and a broken left foot, ruling him out of the World Duathlon championships in Canada that year.

However, he said he drew inspiration from his grandfather who was ruled out of competing at the 1952 Olympic Games in Finland after a crash, but continued to ride for many years after.

Now, as a coach to Bree, Tiree and a mentor to the group, Kurt hopes more riders will come out of the woodwork and show their enthusiasm for the sport.

"I'm more than happy to support any young cyclist coming through but motivation is key," he said.

"If someone wants to do well and is driven, I'll support them."

Despite the five-year gap, the rivalry is very much alive between brothers Kurt (left) and Trevor Coetzee. Photo / Michael Cunningham

Five years Kurt's junior, Trevor said he was driven by the desire to usurp his brother as the premier cyclist of the family.

Like his older sibling, Trevor had his fair share of road bumps on his sporting journey.

As a 6-year-old, the Whangārei Boys' High School student lost his left eye after colliding with a table and now lives with a prosthetic eye.

However, Trevor said the incident soon became a source of motivation.

"It was tough at the start, going back to school with big patch on my eye," Trevor said.

"I just came home one day and decided I wanted to be an Olympic runner because I liked running and always did well at cross-country at school."

Trevor Coetzee, 15, has strived for success ever since he went through an awful accident as a child. Photo / Supplied

Now with a focus on triathlons, duathlons and cycling while managing more than 20 hours of training per week, Trevor was determined to complete his next goal - beating his brother.

"Every training ride I'm always going hard to stay with him and keep up with his pace."