How do you pick a team?

In Human Powered Vehicle racing, you only have 8 riding positions.
So how do you choose the riders from 10 fit, experienced and committed guys?

Our 2008 Australian International Pedal Prix Team. Pic from Pics08 Gallery

It's just not cricket...
It's not like footy or cricket where you can miss a week or a test and be back in the team for the next game.
We only race once or twice a year at best and we spend up to 10 months building our vehicles from scratch too. There's too much riding on it to sit one out. (pun intended)

We're not in the pro-peloton
It's not like a pro cycling squad either, who can pick their teams for the Classics, Tours or One-Day races based on riders strengths and race styles.
We are all HPV racers.

History Repeating?
In the past for Bendigo Youth Racing, we've rarely had an issue of too many riders.
In fact, Wonthaggi in '07 is the only time that we can recall where one rider elected to sit out.
In most cases our teams have come together in the final few weeks when the top 8 has become kinda obvious.
At other races, we have taken members to ride who were underdone fitness-wise because we simply didn't have a fully fit eight.

With 6 weeks to go, we've got 10 - 11 guys pushing for selection:
(in alphabetical order)
- Adam 'Gavin' King
- Cal Ridge
- Daryl 'Daz' King
- Dave Maud
- Deven Pearce
- Nige Preston
- Jarrod 'Chooka' Henderson)
- Troy Hutchins
- Charles (Mark Anson)
- Matt Anson

Here's some selection models we're looking at:

• What do you think is the best method?
• What experience have you had with your teams?

1. Team Poll
   Each team member nominates their top 8 riders - either rated 1-8 or simply 8 names on a slip. The votes are tallied and the results announced. Daz suggests that people need to be "honest and ‘think of the victory" when selecting their preferred rider line-up. They should choose "the 8 quickest riders who will bring the vehicle home safely."
   
   
2. Selectors Panel
   Similar to Cricket Australia I suppose, where a group of senior team members, ex-riders and neutral team friends choose the 8. "It's tough to do this way because you are choosing between friends and we're all deeply committed mates who have put in loads of work. It could be very personally scaring."
   
   
3. Ride-Off
   Either in a vehicle, on a road bike or on a wind-trainer, each rider is subjected to individual tests. Best 8 times get the places.
   "I don't really want to have one hour time trials in the race vehicle, because it will just end up on it's lid." BYR President Jarrod Henderson explained.
   
4. Self-Select
   We could simply wait until the final few weeks of our lead-up and those who are illness and injury free would either 'self-select' or 'self-omit'.

So, there's a few models we could use to pick our team.

• What do you think is the best method?
• What experience have you had with your teams?

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BYR on Triple J

Bendigo Youth Racing's Media Rep, Nige, will be on Triple J this arvo (Tuesday 24 March 2009) from 3:45pm on Triple J with Dools.

We hope you can tune in... http://www.triplej.net.au/dools

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An open letter to the AIPP

Back in December last year, we sent a letter to Andrew McLachlan and the Board of the Australian International Pedal Prix covering a few issues and recommendations.

You can read the full letter below and encourage you to provide feedback to event organisers (AIPP or otherwise) in the future.

As someone who volunteers with the Energy Breakthrough each year, we do collect some feedback via an online survey, but it's always good to hear from more people about what worked and what didn't.

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"Dear Andrew and members of the AIPP Board,

Firstly, congratulations on a great and successful Australian International Pedal Prix in September 2008. This 24-hour event remains the pinnacle of Community HPV racing and the amazing level of competition throughout the field make it one of the toughest to win.

As the year draws to a close and we reflect, I wanted to write to you to congratulate you on a number of areas that I felt went well, and offer four recommendations for the future.
With 223 vehicles taking to the track in 2008, the resulting racing is chaotic, messy, rough and slow. I would like to recommend a cap on entries at 200 teams for 2009. This could involve category caps similar to those loosely imposed on the Community Class. Bigger and busier is not necessarily better.
I believe you will see fewer serious track incidents and riders will enjoy themselves more with fewer vehicles on track.

During the 2008 event, I was stationed with a friend on a marshal point on the front straight. It was the hectic first few hours of the race and so whilst we had a great view of the start, we were very busy pulling vehicles out of fences on both sides of the track. My second recommendation is to provide 2 hi-vis reflective marshal vests at all marshal points. My third recommendation is to monitor rear lights through out the night period. There are several unlit sections of the track which make tail lights crucial to safe racing. I have witnessed a number of incidents caused by poor or non-existent rear lights.

My fourth and final recommendation is related to the cycling criterium. I would like to see it held prior to HPV Practice session on the Friday, in better lighting conditions.

On a lighter note, Paul Richards remains the premier HPV race caller in Australia. His preparation, knowledge of the sport and delivery is excellent. I know this view is shared along pit lane. Well done Paul.

Furthermore, the management of the lap timing and the posting of the results onto the AIPP website within hours of the event was an outstanding effort. Your scrutineering process and procedures is also second-to-none in Australia.

Best of luck for the 2009 Australian HPV Super Series.

Kind regards,

Bendigo Youth Racing Inc"

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BYR President, Jarrod “Chooka” Henderson, talks about motivations, new-found responsibilities and constant battles with Firetrucks

So, what do you do with yourself, Chooka?
I’m a first year apprentice Builder (Carpenter).

You, among several current members, were part of an injection of new blood to BYR in late 2005.
How much did it mean to you personally to be chosen to be part of such a great team in Bendigo Youth Racing?
It meant a lot to be accepted into BYR because it has given me an opportunity to continue racing HPV’S after finishing school. And to be invited to be apart of such a great team was an honor. But the best part was meeting new people that I otherwise wouldn’t have had the opportunity to meet. And building some quality vehicles too!

You’ve been lucky enough to have ridden some pretty quick vehicles at the 3 biggest HPV events in Australia. How do Maryborough, Murray Bridge and Wonthaggi compare to each other?
What circuit has given you the best memories?
I have been very lucky to be involved with teams that are at the pointy end of the field. I have enjoyed every race, but without a doubt I would have to say that Maryborough means the most to me because it is the track where I had my first race win. Plus, you can’t beat the atmosphere at the breakthrough. It is so much better than at the other two races.

Now then, tell us about POV racing! Why and how did it happen?
POV Racing was a team that we started up in 2005 to race at Wonthaggi. The name of the team did suggest the size of our budget. We all put in 50 bucks and built a vehicle using BYR’s 2004 Prototype steel frame and slapped the vehicle together in 2 weekends. It was a very heavy vehicle weighing in at over 40kgs which was the most likely reason for breaking 3 different set’s of king pins throughout the race. But it was all good fun.

Were the lessons and character building obtained from the POV experience essential to you and the other POV member’s later success, both at BSSC and BYR?
Yeah there was a lot to be learnt about how important it is to have a reliable vehicle and how vital training is if you want to perform at a higher level. It also gave us a hunger to knock Berwick Secondary off the top because at the time they were the team to beat!

You were a rider in the mighty Bukk, BSSC record breaking 2005 Energy Breakthrough winner (shown right).
How much did it mean to everyone in the team to put BSSC back at the top, after a couple of years of Berwick Secondary College dominance?
This was a very special win and probably the one I remember most fondly because we put so much time and effort into building that vehicle. We arrived at the race not expecting to be all that fast after BSSC had been off pace the previous two years. But as everyone now knows, we put BSSC back on top on that weekend. We did it in style, (not a single rollover or flat tyre the entire race!) beating second placed Berwick by 42 laps and setting a new distance record of 651 laps which still stands. It was the start of BSSC’s return to the top, and hopefully the latest crop can keep it that way.


Now, speaking of Berwick. At Murray Bridge Team Grug (BSSC’s 2006 vehicle - shown below) had a fantastic battle with BSC’s Firetruck, winning the battle by barely 1 lap. How do you go from beating the same team at the next race by 20 whole laps? What was different in both vehicle and riders, if any?
Murray Bridge 2006 was definitely not our best race because we were probably a bit over-confidant going into the race. But at the same time we did have our problems such as running out of time to give the vehicle a thorough check before the race, which resulted in us being stuck in highest gear for 18 hours of the race (derailleur tension spring). But everyone has there own problems, and we still managed to limp it over the line thanks to a strong comeback in the early hours of the morning.

I think the main difference between Murray Bridge and Maryborough was that we knew which faults we had to fix with Grug for it to be reliable. And it turned out that we never had Grug in the pits being repaired at Maryborough. In the long run that was probably how we managed to beat Highview College and take the race win. The time of the year also counted- the team was alot fitter for Maryborough because it is easier to train for. It can be very hard training in the middle of winter, as is the case for Murray Bridge.

Your HPV career has been exceptional, with trial wins at Maryborough and Wonthaggi, as well as the Category 3 win at Murray Bridge 2006. Do you find it hard to keep yourself motivated to train at such a high level after having so much success?
Training has been a bit of a struggle for me at times but you have your high and low patches but you just have to ride through them because it all pays off at the race.

I think the main thing that drives me when training is that I don’t want to let the team down. But towards the end of last year we were all pretty burnt out after such a long year and building two brand new vehicles, BY-06 and Grug. It lost its fun there for a while and I think that is the reason BYR are taking 2007 off. Who knows what the future holds.

With most of the original members having moved on, you now have the job as Team President! How are you coping with your new responsibilities? Does being in this position make you appreciate the effort that past members have put in to make BYR happen?
I really do appreciate what the original members did for the team now I’m in this position. I never realized how much Nigel and Daryl and the other guys did to organize the team! I now have one race as president under my belt, and so far I’m enjoying the job and the challenges it’s thrown at me.

What do you think is more important? The build quality and design of a vehicle, or the rider fitness?
I think it’s a combination of both because its all well and good to have a fast bike but someone still has to push it. The vehicle is only as fast as the person riding it.

What has been your best and worst stint from any of the races you’ve competed in?
I will start with the worst stint. It was my last stint at Maryborough in 2005, about 2 laps into my stint my nose started pouring out blood and I had no way of stopping it so I just let it go for 40 minutes until I could no longer take it. It wasn’t very comfortable and was a good way to wreck a riding jersey. A really good stint that comes to mind would have to have been at Murray Bridge during the night time, because we were having such a strong battle with Firetruck.

Biggest crash you’ve ever had in a HPV?
(BYR aren’t ambulance chasers, but crashes are highly entertaining and part of HPV racing)
I have only ever had 2 roll over’s in a HPV and they were both 3 laps apart at Wonthaggi in 2006 during that torrential downpour. The worst part was they weren’t even that spectacular. We had 7 rollovers in an hour and a half during the rain. I would much rather be on three or at least two wheels than on my roof!

What is the best thing about being apart of Bendigo Youth Racing?
The best thing about BYR would have to be catching up with friends and building some fast vehicles whilst having a lot of fun. There is never a dull moment at the dream factory…

ABOVE: Grug at the Australian International Pedal Prix in 2006

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