Energy Break Through (EBT) is a unique high-intensity sport only held in Victoria. There are four races every year, all at different locations throughout the state. 

This is the chassis of a trike. The chassis is the skeleton of a trike and is attached to the seatbelt. Handle bars, horn, wheels, pedals and seat. Some trikes have the backrest and seat unattached for adjustment, the same with the wheels.

This what the outside of a trike can look like. Every team as a different trike but some are shells from the same manufacturer. Trikes can cost between $3000 - $10,000! The trike below costs around $4000,  around $5000 with chassis (picture above) included.

Types of trikes:

• HPVs: Human Powered Vehicles, powered by peddling and nothing else
• EEVs: Energy Efficient Vehicles, powered by sustainable, alternative energy sources like solar panels, batteries, and advanced hybrids
• EVs: Electric Vehicles, have a motor, still pedalled
• Push carts: carts meant to hold one person

Equipment/ Gear:

• Cleats: Shoes with clips on the bottom to keep the feet on the pedals
• Helmet: Keeps our heads intact
• Gloves: Protects fingers and hands 
• Glasses: For our eyes, of course
• Water bottle/sports drink: Hydration is key

Team:

• Pit crew: stop trikes as they come into pits, assist with switching riders and work on trikes.
• Staff: in charge of running and organising, monitoring trikes in race, setting up
• Racing team: stretching, warming up, racing
• Reserves: ready to race if someone on the team cannot 
• Parents: there to support their kids, the team, can help out
• Marshals: blow the starting and ending whistle, give out warnings and wave the flags
• DJ: play some good beats, interview some teams, provide commentary

Schedule of race-day:

• Wake up early
• Car ride- around 2 hours, depends where the race is
• Set up pits
• Walk along the track
• Prepare trike for racing
• Set up trikes on the grid in assigned position
• Ride!
• Watch and cheer for teammates
• Grab food/ go to toilet
• Watch end of race
• Pack up
• Watch awards
• Drive back home
• Mandatory servo stop

What things are:

• Pits/ pit: the place where trikes come in, the space where the team stays for warming up, hanging out or working on trikes
• Track walk: walking a lap of the track before the race starts to get a feel for how the race is/ jog memory of the track
• Warm up: gentle spin bike ride, stretching, gearing up
• Cleats: special shoes made to click into custom pedals in trikes

At the races, a marquee or sheltered area is set up with maintenance tools, monitors, snacks and whatever the team requires. A pit crew is present, stopping trikes as they come into pits and helping switch riders in and out. The faster the change-over the better, as you loose time and laps when coming into pits.

Teams are usually formed through schools but some are independent racing teams joinable to anyone. EBT races are highly competitive and require a demanding fitness schedule. 

The website ‘Alpine Racing’ (https://www.alpinetiming.com.au/results/r666/) has a live leaderboard of each team’s trikes. The leaderboard can show team names, number, position per category or overall and other information about the race and teams/trikes. By searching alpine racing (race) (year) you can find the above.

The first race of 2026 is the Calder raceway track. (Blue is the EBT track)

The Calder Park racetrack is a giant 2.3 kilometres with a manageable but tiring incline at the far end of the track. 

Race day begins early to prepare for the long car ride and early starting time of the race. The drive from Bendigo to Calder takes about 2 hours travelling by car. Other modes of transport are difficult to take, and a long walk from the track. Riders are expected to arrive around 9AM to set up either marquees or brick shelters and tune their trikes before the race begins. Half an hour before race begins, trikes are wheeled to the grid in assigned positions. The national anthem is played, a horn is blared and they’re off. The race goes for a whopping 8 hours, starting at 10 am and finishing late at 6 pm. Many food trucks and stalls are open lines along the stands. Calder is a mainly car-centred location with many car displays and the iconic yellow and blue of Bob Jane T-Marts on almost every building. A Calder café sits near the toilets and car park selling hot food, drinks and ice creams.

The second race is Casey fields. 

This race is known for its many turns as you can see on the image above. The overall length of the track is 2.2 kilometres with a moderate incline around the far end of the track, away from the pit crew set up. Most races usually go for 8 hours starting anytime from 10-12 pm. Sections are marked and a marshal is stationed for track crossing. Despite there being a crossing supervisor, too many times have I nearly ran someone over as they were crossing!

The third race is Sandown

Sandown, the longest track out of all the racetracks is a grand 3.1 kilometers with a nasty hill. Sandown is famous for its deadly hill at a staggering 8% incline. 

The final race for the year is Maryborough, 1.78 kilometers.

Maryborough is known as the “final boss” race, the one, all previous races have been leading up to. This race goes for 24 hours non-stop! 

As well as racing, Maryborough includes Display & Presentation and Scrutineering. Display & Presentation is a performance like a song or play meant to show what your team is about and cover the large criteria. Scrutineering is almost a test; your team and trike enter a tented area with a Maryborough judge. They ask questions about the trike including aerodynamics, sustainability, effectiveness and finally… weight. At the end of the event the team’s trike is placed on a large scale and measured. The lighter the trike, the better.

Camping spaces are assigned and teams set up tents. Because of the intensity and time, bridges to cross over the track are put in place. The whole event of Maryborough is massive, people from all over Australia, mainly Victoria and South Australia, come to watch the race and the other elements. 

The event stretches across three days, a fair with activities and free merch, Display & Pres and Scrutineering happens on Day 1 and the race starts Day 2, finishing on Day 3, 24 hours later.

Maryborough is a very tiring race that messes up sleep schedules and requires a strong team to push through! 

This year is my third in EBT for my school. For me, Energy Break-through is a sport full of community and teamwork, and it has brought close to my peers. I feel proud to be a part of a team and have learnt a lot of valuable life skills such as resilience and teamworking as well as building up my fitness. I would encourage anyone that can, to join EBT as it is an incredible experience.