With the countdown on for the 2023 Energy Breakthrough, we know our teams are working hard to finalise their trikes and pushcarts, perfect their racing lines, and get race ready.
We caught up with the team from Epsom Primary School at a recent training session to see how they’re tracking for the event.
2023 will mark just the 2nd year that Epsom Primary School has raced a trike at the Energy Breakthrough. After placing 12th overall in their category last year, they’ve decided to up the ante and race two vehicles this year!
The team were working hard when we met them down at Tom Flood’s velodrome in Bendigo this week – with two trikes on the go, the teams were pushing their limits as they pedalled through a 10 lap warm-up and 20 lap sprint each. The team has clearly been dedicated to their training throughout the year, with an average improvement of 5 seconds per lap!
This isn’t just a one-off session for Epsom though – they’ve been heading down to the velodrome each Thursday to practice, as well as visiting their local Snap Fitness, riding on the Bendigo Creek trail, and getting some real-world experience on the track at Sandown as part of the Victorian HPV series.
To provide some extra motivation, the team has implemented a buddy system – each student is matched with another in the program, gaining points for extra training and participation, and bettering their times on the track!
They’ve been sure to test their limits under a range of conditions too, participating in a night training session, and simulating some wet track conditions back at school.
Epsom knows it’s not just about what happens on the track though, afterall, the trial is worth just 50% of the overall score! They’re already working hard at their display and presentation, and making sure they know everything about their vehicle so they can wow the judges and scrutineers.
Which shouldn’t be too hard given the effort the team has put in! Epsom has focussed on making the Energy Breakthrough student-led from the start – integrating the program into STEM and literacy classes back at school. After a training session, their coach Mr Pocock provides each student with a list of their laptimes, who then are tasked with working out their average time and speed for the session – and tracking their time across the year.
When we caught up with them on Thursday, the team was analysing the temperature changes in the trike too, in the first 20 lap stint, they recorded a 3 degree increase, so the team will now work together to come up with a solution to keep the trike cool during the race. Literacy has been on the table too, with students working together to develop their speaking notes and posters for their Display and Presentation.
The students at Epsom know that team-work is what will get them over the line, they’ve been strongly focusses on making their team as inclusive as possible, and working to every students strength, whether that be on the track, in writing their display and presentation, ensuring the trike is race-ready or analysing their laptimes – there is a job for everyone!
With all the work the team has put in this year, they’re confident of their success at the 2023 Energy Breakthrough and beating last years effort, but they’ve told us they’re mostly looking forward to getting out there and having a crack, working together, having each others back and trying their best.
We wish Epsom Primary School and all our schools the very best at the 2023 Energy Breakthrough – and we can’t wait to see you all out on the track!
