Cycling: Students deliver lesson in team spirit

Twenty-nine students from Mt Aspiring College will be entering the Motutapu Challenge. Photo / Thinkstock

Twenty-nine students from Mt Aspiring College in Wanaka sum up the spirit of the Motatapu Challenge. All 29 are volunteering before the race.

They will be doing a range of jobs, from carparking to timekeeping of other events and competitor registration. They start at 5.45am and their 47km mountain bike event begins at about 11am.

"These are highly motivated and high-achieving kids," said Duncan Miles, 34, who is the hostel manager at Mt Aspiring College.

"We expect them to do well whatever they do. They have always given their best over the years, so we are proud of our students."

The teenagers are using the Motatapu event to prepare to defend their title at the South Island Secondary Schools 12-hour Adventure Race Champs the following weekend.

"The students get a sense of achievement from the event and it's simply a prequel to the main event for their term the following weekend."

Training began for this event and the 12-hour champs on arrival at the hostel at the start of last month.

Miles expects a generally high standard from his students.

"Some of them will do no extra training and cope fine ... others will train a few times a week and do very well. Some may being looking forward to it and some be dreading it ... It's a very individual thing."

There is a buzz among the MAC Hostel, as next weekend the students know they get a rare opportunity to take part in a special event.

"It's the only time during the year that the property is open to ride. It's a great ride for first-timers also, so it meets our needs."

Miles has competed in the event in the past but will not this year - he takes just as much satisfaction from seeing all 29 of his students complete the ride.

"I run the logistics of getting 29 kids ready for race day. I manage their nutrition leading up to and on race day ... And most importantly get them to the start line and bring them home at the end. I have finished the ride in under 3 hours and taken as long 8 hours as a tail-ender helping kids who have struggled with breakdowns."

For the students, it is a great challenge and one they take on at first light in the morning, making sure all the athletes in the Motatapu are well-looked after. With that sort of team spirit, it's little wonder they won the 12-hour South Island Adventure Race Champs.