THE Brownlee brothers might be the most famous names in British triathlon, but with double Olympic champion, Alastair, turning his attention towards the Ironman discipline, there is a chance they will not be alongside each other on the start line in Tokyo at the 2020 Games.

That does not necessarily mean, however, that Yorkshire will be devoid of sporting siblings in the Olympic triathlon line-up. Northallerton brothers Douglas and Fergus Roberts might not have achieved anything like the success of the Brownlees yet, but with three-and-a-half years until the start of Tokyo 2020, time is on their side as they attempt to follow in their footsteps.

At 25, Douglas is the elder and more established of the pair, having secured his first international podium finish when he claimed a silver medal at last summer’s ETU Triathlon European Cup in the Netherlands. Last weekend, he kicked off the new season by finishing 11th in the opening European Cup event of 2017 in Gran Canaria.

Fergus is three years younger than his brother, and finished in the top 20 at last year’s British Sprint Triathlon National Championships.

They train together at their base at the University of Stirling, where they are studying for degrees in environmental management and environmental geography, and like the Brownlees, feel their sibling rivalry helps drive them on.

“It’s good to have someone there to train with all the time, pushing you but also telling you to take it easy sometimes,” said Fergus. “We are competitive, but we are always trying to push each other in training and in racing we’ll work together to bring the best out of us.”

That mutual support network appears to be working, and the pair’s key ambition for the next six months is to qualify for the Scottish team for next year’s Commonwealth Games on Australia’s gold coast.

Despite regarding Northallerton as their home town, they have always represented Scotland, and their older sister, Jessica, also wore a Scottish vest when she competed in the cross-country mountain bike discipline at the last Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

Douglas’ ranking means he is well set to emulate his sister in Australia next summer, with last weekend’s performance in Las Palmas underlining his continued improvement.

A strong opening swim set him up nicely for the final two disciplines, and he eventually finished just a minute-and-a-half behind Azerbaijani gold medallist Rostislav Pevtsov. There was success for Britain in the women’s event, with Jessica Learmonth and Lucy Hall filling the top two positions.

“Having Jessie competing at Glasgow 2014 inspired both of us to go out and train and get to the same level,” said Douglas, who claimed three top-ten finishes on the ETU circuit last summer. “Essentially, my big aim for the year is to qualify for the Gold Coast, but I’m just trying to be the best athlete I can be, trying to improve myself individually each day to race more consistently at an international level.

“It’s a really tough qualifying criteria, so even though I believe I can do it and it’s my main aim, I’m not getting too hung up on that.  And if I don’t qualify then I know I will have become a better athlete for it.

“I collected all the good things I did last season and I’ve had a better focus this winter. After Christmas I did a 10k road race and ran a big PB (30:18mins) by over a minute from the same race last year.  I didn’t think I was in that kind of shape so it’s really good to have that kind of form early season.”

Having studied at Northallerton College, the duo chose to pursue their university degrees in Stirling because of the university’s reputation for sporting achievement and its proximity to the main training bases of Scottish Triathlon.

They are supported by the Winning Students scheme, Scotland’s national sports scholarships programme for student athletes, and will hope to achieve more success on the European scene this season, with Douglas also targeting a move into World Cup events.

“I came to Stirling for triathlon and to achieve the academic side at the same time,” said Fergus. “The support network you get is fantastic.  The University is so supportive of performance athletes and Winning Students is helping me get a really good degree while assisting me with travelling to races and training camps, so I’ve still been able to compete at the top level.”