Motorists driving around the Coromandel Peninsula are being asked to be patient and share the road with cyclists as they compete in the K2 Cycle Race today.

The race is taking place around the Coromandel Peninsula on State Highway 25, 25A and SH26.

Cyclists are hitting the roads in the Coromandel for the K2 Cycle race today. File photo.

The NZ Transport Agency says traffic management will be in place and cyclists will be on the highway from 7am until around 5pm.

'Please take care and watch for cyclists,” says a statement from the agency.

The Cranleigh K2 is the toughest one day cycle challenge in the Southern Hemisphere, according to the race website.

It is also one of the most scenic and varied with the route traveling through sub-tropical forest, pacific coastlines, rural farmland and the Puhutakawa coastline of the Hauraki Gulf.

The event is named after Kuaotunu, an enchanting community on the wild eastern coastline of the Coromandel Peninsula.

In Maori, the name Kuaotunu means 'to inspire fear in young animals”.

The 2 represents the almost 200km that the ride will cover. By coincidence K2 is the 2nd highest, and probably the most difficult to climb, mountain in the World.

This year's race marks the 12th anniversary of the Cranleigh K2 and this year the race will start in Whitianga and travel in an anticlockwise direction through Coromandel, Thames, Tairua and back to Whitianga.