Youth road cycling comeback
Young hotshots on the road to great things after impressive results
Five young Northland cycling talents are joining forces to revive youth road cycling in the region. Kurt Coetzee, 20, Jorja Swain, 18, Bree Monaghan, 15, Trevor Coetzee, 15, and Tiree Robinson, 14, cycle together on Tuesdays in Whanga¯ rei with the Marsden Wheelers Road Cycling Club.
The crew formally announced themselves as ones 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 and 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 and Jorja was the sixth-best female rider across the same distance.
However, cycling is only one string to the bows of these talented young athletes.
Brothers Kurt and Trevor started their sporting careers in running and triathlons and the latter is set to compete at the Oceania Open Jiu Jitsu Championships in Auckland next weekend.
Whanga¯ rei 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 Whanga¯ rei 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.
As for Jorja, an ACL tear put an end to her promising efforts for Northland in the hockey and running arenas.
However, the Whanga¯ rei 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 has been far from smooth after a 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.”
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 Whanga¯ rei Boys’ High School student lost his left eye after colliding with a table and now lives with a prosthetic eye.
However, Trevor said the accident soon became a source of motivation.
“It was tough at the start, going back to school with a 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.”
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.”
"I’m trying to build something because Northland youth cycling just died for a couple of years."