25th Australian International Pedal Prix “up there with the great events”

The 2009 Australian Pedal Prix, and the 2009 UniSA Australian HPV Super Series, have both been a huge success. The racing thrilled us all, and many new champions were crowned. We’ll look at all of the results for the AIPP and the Super Series shortly.

 

South Australian Premier Mike Rann, at his first ever Australian International Pedal Prix, was clearly impressed with the magnitude of the event. “Congratulations to the teams, congratulations to the organisers, all the volunteers, all the teachers, all the parents for their great support,” he said. “This is a really great South Australian event that’s up there with the best of them.

 

“We’re very proud to be a sponsor of this. We think it’s great for kids. They learn about design, they learn about fitness, they learn about, also, very importantly, teamwork.” 

 

And then, he gave the Pedal Prix the greatest compliment of all: “We’ve got the Tour Down Under next in January, then the Clipsal 500 – this is up there with the great events.”

 

Now that’s big praise! And it’s praise that everyone involved should soak up, whatever role you take to make the Pedal Prix a reality. The event is unique, it draws over 3,000 competitors, it keeps setting world records, has more than 30,000 spectators and creates over 3 million dollars of business for the Rural City of Murray Bridge – all this from a race that started in 1985 with a few old clunky steel pedal karts! Add to this the massive rewards that students and communities gain from both the event and the activities leading up to it throughout the year – it is certainly something very special. Indeed, together, we have all brought the Australian International Pedal Prix to the level of “great events.”

 

Just after midday on the Saturday, Premier Rann started the race, waving the Australian flag in front of thousands of spectators, hundreds of cameras and media from every metropolitan television station. Then, for 24 hours, for the 228 teams and their families and friends it was time to buckle down for the ride of their lives.  You can check out the start and the racing at the UniSA Video Link in the menu to your left!

 

So, let’s check out the final results. We’ll look at it Category by Category, listing the winners in the 24 hour AIPP race, and then the winners in the 2009 UniSA Australian HPV Super Series.