PEDALS were turning fiercely at McNamara Park last weekend as competitors from across the state battled with warm weather conditions in round one of the UniSA HPV Super Series.
Determination took hold of the 69 teams, swiping away sweat as they raced around the track, eager to beat their times and receive a placing.
St Martins Lutheran College was among many local schools to take up the challenge, with four teams competing in different sections throughout the day.
Thrilled with the final results, HPV coordinator Briodie Wilson said she was proud of the students for their commitment to the event and drive to succeed.
“This year we put forward an all girls team for the first time and they ended up winning the highest placed senior school all female group with 107 laps, which was fantastic,” she said.
“One member from that team also received the fastest lap time at just over three minutes and 53 seconds.”
Dealing with limited challenges throughout the race, Ms Wilson said the school’s major setback was a flat tyre in the first 30 minutes of the race.
“Thankfully we did not have any big problems apart from the tyre blow out, which unfortunately put us back slightly and lost us a third place with one of our teams,” she said.
“The hot weather definitely made it more challenging and when students went back for a second go they did struggle and were not able to race for as long.”
Year 8 student Isabelle Quintel – who was a part of the open team – was the third rider on the day and said it was a challenging but fun experience.
“It was tough because it was so hot and I was going to come in after doing two laps, but my team encouraged me to keep going and I ended up racing for around 40 minutes,” she said.
“It was my first time taking part and I really enjoyed myself, I loved the competitiveness of it.”
Taking a break over the school holidays, Ms Wilson said students are looking forward to a rest before training begins for the June event in Adelaide.
“We are extremely proud of how we raced and ready to get back into training over the holidays,” she said.
“Thank you to all the teams in South Australia and over the border for taking part and making the event possible.”
Grant High School team Fluro is the New Black also received good results on the day, placing second in the middle school section with 116 laps completed on the day.
