Pro cycling siblings you might not know about
For these pros, racing is a family affair
Those who grew up with a sibling know there is no better motivation than the idea of being better than your brother or sister. The classic framework of a sibling rivalry may explain why there are so many siblings you can currently watch competing in cycling. For some siblings, such as the van der Poels, cycling is a part of the family culture. For others, like the Sagans, one sibling got the other into the sport and they trained and improved together.
Nairo Quintana and Dayer Quintana
Dayer is two-and-a-half years younger than Nairo. He got into cycling because of his brother and has had a successful career as a pro cyclist. Dayer followed his brother from Movistar to Arkéa Samsic. Family is very important for the siblings and they’re known to work well together as a team.
Peter Sagan and Juraj Sagan
Like the Quintanas, the Sagans also race together. Both are members of BORA – hansgrohe, and, with only 13 month between them, the brothers haven’t spent a lot of time apart. Training and traveling together, they’re siblings and best friends. Juraj is the three time Slovakian national road race champion and was the first to get into cycling at nine or ten, but his brother followed just a few months later.
Julian Alaphilippe and Bryan Alaphilippe
Bryan, 24, competes with St Michel – Auber93. From 2015-2017 he raced with Equipe Cycliste Armée de Terre, but he took a few years off, thinking he was done with the sport. His brother’s success on his first Tour in 2018 inspired the cyclist to get back on the road.
Simon Yates and Adam Yates
With the exception of 2016, when Simon served a doping ban after testing positive for terbutaline, these twins have raced together since their professional careers began in 2014. The brothers are hard to tell apart when racing side-by-side, but they tend to have different race calendars so it’s not normally an issue for viewers.
Mathieu van der Poel and David van der Poel
Throughout their careers, the van der Poel brothers have always raced on the same team, first under BKCP-Powerplus, then with Beobank-Corendon and they will now race on Alpecin-Fenix for the next three years. Cycling is in the family, as the brothers are grandsons of Raymond Poulidor and sons of 1996 world cyclocross champion, Adrie van der Poel.
Lucy van der Haar and Grace Garner
Lucy van der Haar (née Garner), started off her season finishing first in the GC and points classifications of the Dubai Women’s Tour. She currently races for UCI Women’s Continental Team Hitec Products–Birk Sport. Her sister, 22 year old Grace, races for UCI Women’s Continental Team CAMS–Tifosi.
Quinton Disera and Peter Disera
These Canadian brothers both race on the Norco Factory Team. In 2019, they won respective national championships just 15 minutes apart. Quinton was the under-23 XCO national champ and Peter took his 3rd elite men’s XCO national championship.
The Disera Double: Brothers win elite and u23 XCO national championships minutes apart
Megan Jastrab and Ryan Jastrab
Megan and Ryan grew up playing on BMX bikes. Now, Megan is the current junior road World Champion. The 18-year-old will be racing with Rally this season, her first year on a pro cycling team. Ryan, 19 years old, is going into his second year racing for Wildlife Generation Pro Cycling.
Rachel Atherton and Gee Atherton
Rachel Atherton is a British downhill mountain bike racer, and is a multiple time UCI World Champion. Gee Atherton was a dominant force in the early 2010s and narrowly missed out on a world cup overall to Steve Smith. Third sibling, Dan Atherton, used to race but now focuses on the family’s bike park and his infamously difficult Red Bull Hardline event.
Tahnée Seagrave and Kaos Seagrave
Tahnée Seagrave, a rival to Rachel Atherton (who dominates women’s downhill), won a silver medal at the 2018 downhill world championships. Her brother, Kaos Seagrave, hasn’t had the same results on the World Cup circuit, but his wild style has made him popular at Crankworx, in film parts and at Fest Series events.
Bonus: Sergio Henao and Sebastián Henao
Columbian cousins Sergio and Sebastián rode together on Team Sky from 2014-2018. During this time, Sergio was ranked first in the GC at the 75th Paris – Nice. Sergio now races for UAE-Team Emirates and Sebastián is still with Team INEOS.
