“He never used to like riding with me because I used to ride really hard from the start. Say it was a three-hour run, I’d push on for the first hour and then regret it and go a lot slower, almost suffer all the way home, but [always] attempt to kick his head on the way out.”
Competition has driven two-time Olympic champion Joanna Rowsell Shand and younger brother, former national junior road race champion, Erick to the higher reaches of cycling since growing up together in Sutton.
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And while their careers have taken different paths – Jo to the track, and gold medals at national, European, Commonwealth, World and Olympic level; Erick to the road and a growing reputation as a stage racer, cemented by last year’s 15th place at the Tour of Britain – the still look back fondly on their cycling routes.