A NOVICE group of Kinross Wolaroi School students stepped up to the challenge at the Australian International Pedal Prix in South Australia during the weekend.
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Fifteen students from years seven to 10, led by captain Kelsea Bellamy and vice-captain Max Eastwood, competed in the 24-hour challenge at Murray Bridge with their human-powered vehicle (HPV) - a tricycle built into an aerodynamic shell.
The HPVs reach speeds averaging 25 to 44.8 kilometres per hour and positions are calculated based on how many laps a HPV completes within the allowed time.
For more than half the Kinross team, the event was their first - they competed in the junior secondary category and were the only NSW team.
Team leader David de Bruyn said, with a placing of 143rd out of about 230 teams, Kinross had performed better in previous years, but six tyre punctures plagued the team’s effort on the weekend.
“There were a number of cat’s eyes on the track this year and we seemed to pick them up quite often,” he said.
“This year we were rebuilding because five or six members graduated on Friday and because of that, they couldn’t come - these guys really stepped up to the mark and did a fantastic job, really.”
Mr de Bruyn said the race taught students practical skills and required them to take an active role in managing the team.
“They have to maintain the vehicle, change the tyres and there’s a lot of teamwork to work out rest times, who’s getting in and who’s getting out and even little things about road rules,” he said.
“Some of the parents said they had never seen their children so involved in something before.”
The event attracted about 3500 competitors and 24,000 spectators.
With a proposal to bring a six-hour HPV race to Orange in October 2015, Orange City councillor Kevin Duffy also attended the event to witness it firsthand.
He also met with Murray Bridge mayor Allan Arbon and Australian International Pedal Prix director Andrew McLachlan.
“We hope to invite them to Orange in late October to look at where we could stage such an event with the intention of having an event next year,” he said.
“It’s a huge thumbs-up from me - it would add to the economy in all sorts of ways.”
danielle.cetinski@fairfaxmedia.com.au