US racer returns home with map of NZ tattooed on his backside after losing bet with team mate

An American cyclist who took part in last week’s Tour of Southland in New Zealand is returning home with a rather special souvenir after losing a bet with a team mate – a map of the country tattooed on his backside.

Tyler Stewart of the Texas-based Cadence Cyclery team bet its sprinter Kent Myers that he wouldn’t be able to make it up a climb without dismounting. Stewart lost the bet, and another member of the team posted pictures of him undergoing the forfeit to Facebook.

“The bet was simple,” said race organisers after Grayson Keppler shared the pictures with them. “If Kent got off and walked, he had to get a tattoo of NZ on his butt. But if Kent made it, then Tyler had to have it done.”

The climb may only be 2.28km long with its summit at 259 metres, but it certainly packs a punch – an average gradient of 11 per cent that tops out at 22 per cent.

“So well done to Kent for making it up Bluff Hill without stopping,” the organisers added, “and well done to Tyler for following through!”

The tattoo shows the outline of New Zealand’s North and South Islands, as well as a heart where Invercargill, where the race was based, is located.