Robin McKeever (36), a 1998 Olympian, may have a few years' head start on his Paralympic gold-medal winning brother, Brian (30), but the pair say things started to even out about five or six years ago.
Now Robin can find himself struggling to keep up with his partially-sighted brother, who has a genetic condition called macular degeneration.
"It used to matter to me if I couldn't keep up with Brian but now we have a good team system going and if necessary, Brian will finish on his own," Robin said.
They laughed when they recalled Robin vomiting from his efforts during an International Paralympic Committee world championship race in Vuokatti, Finland, last year.
Brian won, but not before Robin recovered and caught up to cross the line a second later.
"He was concerned. He was like `Are you OK'?" Robin recalled.
Robin was skiing that race as a guide, and the two have become a formidable team on the cross-country circuit.
Brian also races as an individual in International Skiing Federation (FIS) races and last year made history by becoming the first Canadian athlete with a disability to ski in an able-bodied race.
He finished 24th at the world championships.
His goal now is to become the first athlete with a disability to qualify for both the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in Vancouver next year.
In tomorrow's 15km cross-country race at the Snow Farm, Brian will be racing in the FIS category against his brother and other elite athletes from around the world.
Their Canadian team-mates, Olympians Devon Kershaw and Ivan Babikov, are the white-hot favourites but the McKeevers will still be skiing their insides out.
For Brian, the race is about setting a benchmark for his ongoing training programme and to see what speeds he can attain.
He describes his Olympic bid as hard work but "do-able".
"Whenever we race, we are among the best in our country," Brian said.
Robin "retired" from elite-level racing about three years ago but has not been able to give up racing.
He works as a technical coach for the Canadian adaptive team and also has a paid job to guide Brian.
Their FIS rankings are similar and if Brian qualifies for the Vancouver Olympics, Robin may also be in the team.
But Robin is happy to take whatever fate delivers his brother.
"I think it is Brian's main goal going into the next season, but my main goal is to guide Brian as best as I can so he can be in the best shape he can be for the Paralympics."
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