 Australia’s Olympic legend Patrick Jonker is our official race-starter for Sunday’s second round of the UniSA Australian HPV Super Series.
The latest in a list of celebrity flagwavers (Premier Mike Rann, Glen Dix, Anne Moran, David Knight, just to name a few), Patrick is a veteran of the 1992 and 1996 Olympic Games. He’s also competed five times in the Tour de France, with a career best 12th place in 1996.
And now, thanks to his association with UniSA, he’ll be the man that starts Round Two with the big Aussie flag.
So how did Patrick Jonker become involved with the Pedal Prix?
“Oh, I’ve been to plenty of them,” said Patrick this week. “But my interest started back in the mid-nineties. A race was organised down Port Road - a whole lot of bike riders, some of us professionals, and we were racing against a few youngsters in HPV’s. Us bike riders gained an advantage early because we could start faster, and we were cruising at a good pace … but then, near the end, this kid in a HPV just zoomed past us and beat us all. He was going mayber 55 kilometres an hour. I just watched this thing roar past me. After that, I was fascinated.”
Always looking for the competetive edge, that same fascination still keeps Patrick a big fan of the UniSA Australian HPV Super Series.
“The aerodynamics of the HPV’s are awesome,” he said. “That’s what I’m really impressed with. The lines, the thinking behind the designs, the technology behind them – I’ve been amazed; some schools produce their own materials and do a wide range of scientific testing. It’s very high tech, and it just keeps on improving. I mean, that race on Port Road was around fifteen years ago – nowadays the teams are using carbon fibre and there’s a real professionalism to the sport. Think about how the HPV’s of today would have gone in that race.”
This Sunday at 10am, when Patrick waves the flag at Victoria Park, he’ll be starting the biggest field ever assembled for Round Two. How will your team go? Here’s a tip: refresh your memory on the results link, and check out the scenario in each of the categories. Is your team’s position safe? What do you need to do this Sunday to climb the ladder? Round Two is the round where your season can be set up for success in the final run home in the 24 hour Australian International Pedal Prix – this Sunday is your big chance.
Next week, after Round Two, we’ll take a look at the top ten teams in each category. We’ll see where they sit in the 2010 Championship, and we’ll ask what some of them will need to do if they really want to become the National Champions in September. But really, it’s the results of this Sunday which will matter most; their impact upon this year’s Championship will be huge.
So, good luck this Sunday! See you there! |
