A Festival of Pedal Prix 2024

Over the weekend of Friday 14 June through to Sunday 16 June, our Pedal Prix program took part in the annual Festival of Pedal Prix, as Round 3 of the UniSA Australian HPV Super Series. Across the three days, Norwood Pedal Prix Racing was able to field 12 teams, offering more than 70 athletes the opportunity. We welcomed our 2024 Season sponsors People Choice Credit Union and Mitico Coffee, while launching our fundraising campaign the People Choice Community Lottery (get on board and buy tickets here).

A brief recap of the results is below, and read on for a day-by-day race report.

Friday 14 June, saw our year 7s take to the track, which proved to be a precious lesson in resilience and perseverance. Our year 7s were joined by siblings and friends from various other feeder schools, as they took on the 6-hour junior event on the 1.1km Western Circuit. The student’s wet weather riding skills were put to the test, with limited visibility and a slippery surface to contend with. A brief pause in the race was called as 10mm of rain fell in under 45 minutes, with organisers allowing the standing water to drain away before continuing. Our two teams of “Team Rampage and Team Enigma II” challenged for the lead early and were able to remain in contention for podium positions throughout the 6-hour race. Enigma II came away 10th overall and 5th in the Under 13 division. Team Rampage emerged from the rain coming away in 5th overall and securing 3rd in the Under 13 Category. Some exceptional “bravery” by our support team of Kimberly O’Brien, Jo Hess, John McCullough and all the parents/caregivers kept the teams moving through the water-logged journey.

Saturday 15 June, allowed our parents, staff, supporters and old scholars to give competitive racing a go or to jump back in after some time away from the sport. We offer the community race to our community as a thank you for the hard work and passion they put in through the whole season while providing a platform for parents to engage with their children in a truly shared experience. There is something awesome about the roles being reversed and our students cheering on their parents/caregivers, or staff from the pit wall. Our three teams on the day “Team Re-Focused” is made up of old scholars and the younger generation of our community members, “Master Spurls” is our All-Female, master’s Team (>35) and “Master of Focus” our Male, master’s team (>35). A clean, dry, and cool day of racing from 9:30am to 4:30pm was enjoyed by all. Master Spurls continued their year-on-year form taking out the All-Female master’s category and coming in 3rd in the Open All-Female division (3rd year running). Team Re-Focused came home in 41st and 30th in the category, with the Masters of Focus on their heels in 48th overall, and 5th in the master’s category. A special shout out to our staff members Callie, Jo, Kimberly and Zoe for taking up the challenge.

Sunday 16June, rolled in with 7 trikes, 50 students, and a tremendous amount of parent/community support a massive day was ahead. Students got to witness the AIPP Super Sprint, where the top 10 riders battle it out in a straight-up power sprint over just two laps. Old Scholar “Darcy Strudwick” impressed early with a lap averaging over 62km/hr, but he was reeled in on the last turn. The weather for the main event had been chosen kindly and provided the perfect conditions for racing, with a dry track, and the sun shining. The atmosphere built as 120 teams from across SA and Victoria assembled on the grid. At 9.30 am, the flag dropped and the high school teams were away for 6 hours of electrifying racing.

Team XP8 – Started with a massive stint from Tom (yr 12) who battled early with Pembroke, before settling into the race lead. A strong start by the team saw them hold the lead for the first few hours of the race, some incredibly consistent lap times by Pembroke saw them retake the lead and despite a strong push in the late stages, the boys had to be content celebrating a 2nd place result (Overall and in Category, Senior School)

Team Spurls – Were locked in a tough battle early, Walford returned to the track this round and saw a friendly rivalry continue from 2023. Throughout the day the girls were able to push out to a lead but got reeled back in time and time again. With only 6 riders (verses 12+ in the Walford bike) an incredible amount of grit saw the girls hold the lead until the final 30-minutes of the race, some fresh legs outdoing them for pace by 1 lap (only 1.33km). A second place in the category of senior school all-female and 23rd overall sees the girls hold onto 1st place in the series.

Team Focus – A strong race from the senior boys saw them battle for a podium position throughout the race. Big stints from Nick (yr 11) and Luca (yr 10) allowed a gap to form back to 5th position (Kings Baptist Grammar) and comfortably come through in 4th in senior school category (5th Overall), just edged off the podium by St Peter’s College.

Team Protégé – Put on another dynamic performance with each rider continuing to develop their confidence and race craft. A big ride from Yazd (yr 11) and Kobe (yr 9) kept the boys travelling well in and saw them come through in 21st in Category and 25th Overall.

Team Enigma – Led the way from the outset, and despite constant pressure from the 2023 winners Walford, the girls held strong. A big ride by Grace (yr 9) set the tone early and consistent laps, fast changeover kept them ahead in the Middle School All-Female category. A strong finishing stint saw the team build their lead to 7 laps taking out 1st in category, 11th outright in Middle School and 38th overall. The team has now built a substantial lead in the overall series results.

Team Astro – Put together a very consistent race, trialling a new “sprint strategy” a few key riders went out purely for speed to try a bridge the gap to first place. The new plan saw Tom (yr 9) and Kye (yr 9), throw down some exceptionally fast times and through combined effort the team was comfortably positioned in 2nd place, 16 laps clear of third. The gap still remained to first place, with Astro coming through in 2nd in Middle School, and 10th Overall.

Team Rampage – Where back on track after only a 1-day break. The extra race experience and change of conditions were truly in the boy’s favour. Kabir (yr 7) and Chase (yr 7) put in exceptional performance, helping the team to go from the equivalent of 28th in Category at the Bend (round 2) to 14th in Category, and 50th Overall. A truly awesome improvement over 4 short weeks.

It was an awesome weekend of racing for Norwood Pedal Prix Racing, over the 3-days our teams travelled more than 2,560 km and showed excellent sportsmanship on and off the track. We were fortunate to have to have the wonderful support of our Team Managers – David/Troy (XP8), Jo (Spurls), Kimberly (Enigma), Phil/Mick (Focus), Simon/Ben (Protégé), Matt/Danar (Astro), John (Rampage). Over the 3-days, our supporters and parents covered over 10-hours of track marshalling and countless other roles supporting our riders and students.

If you would like to get involved in the Pedal Prix Program, we are still seeking more riders (especially females). Please get in contact via dl.0787.pedalprix@schools.sa.edu.au

Ben O’Connell
Pedal Prix Manager