EvoDevo trips: what we need from you (logistics)

If you’ve been selected for an EvoDevo racing trip, there are a number of things we need from you and your supporters.

• Parking

• Water

• Pit crew

• Pit passes

Parking

We will arrive early at the venue and setup a base. We will drop a pin in the WhatsApp group to let you know where we are. We need you to park as near to us as possible - allowing for the constraints imposed by event marshals - so that we can support you effectively.

At international races, parking is arranged by category. At the close of the 2024-25 season, the norm is for junior women to race with the elites, which means that despite being juniors they are eligible for elite parking. Junior males are usually assigned parking slightly further away from the course.

This distinction causes EvoDevo some difficulties. With our limited resources it is next to impossible for us to provide a professional level of support two groups in different locations. The result is that we have to set up in the junior men’s parking, because junior women can come there too, whereas junior men cannot access the elite parking.

However, the 2025-26 season sees the implementation of measures intended to lead to organisers holding more separate junior women’s races. In this case, it seems likely that male and female juniors will be allocated the same parking area, and where possible we will target these races for the benefit of the junior women.

Occasionally, events require parking passes. One is provided to each rider. Unless we have contacts within the organisation, we may not be able to get a permit for an EvoDevo vehicle.  In this case, we’ll need someone to volunteer to help us out. This would involve meeting us beforehand to transfer a rider and their kit and bikes into our van. We would then use their permit for our vehicle, and their supporter would have to park in spectator parking and make their way over on foot. Obviously we would take particular care of that rider, ensuring they kept warm in our vehicle and so on.

Water

Bring a single water container of between 20-40L capacity (and have means to fill it). Water is needed for jet washing the bikes after practice, and again after the race. We will have a supply of water with us, but sometimes we need a top up if it’s been a dirty day. If everyone brings a small contribution, that will be plenty.

Pit crew

As a general rule, you should provide one person in the pits. EvoDevo will provide additional pit crew, depending on the number of riders in the race. We always provide someone, it could be as many as 3-4 people depending on the situation. There will always be at least one person with mechanical knowledge. We’ll work with you to ensure that there is a catcher and a passer for each bike change. You will normally be responsible for cleaning your rider’s bike in the pits (using the official jetwashes).

The jetwash area at Loenhout (C) Balint Hamvas

We appreciate that riders don’t always have a supporter who is comfortable in the pits, for a variety of reasons. Part of the idea behind EvoDevo is to ensure those riders can still have opportunities to race at the highest level. If you aren’t confident in the pits, or have a disability that limits what you can do, we can help you as much as you need.

Pit passes

You will receive two pit passes for each race. You must be prepared to give up one of these passes to a member of EvoDevo staff. At a well attended race we won’t always need everyone’s second pass as there will be fewer staff than riders, but there have been occasions where we are supporting just 1 or 2 riders in a specific race and pit passes have been an issue. In accepting a place on the trip, you are accepting our help in the pits. If you feel you don’t require our help in the pits, that is assistance that we could have offered to another promising rider who needed us.

If you’ve found this helpful, please consider donating here to support the work we do with young riders. We are not-for-profit and entirely reliant on donations.