John Crouchley (BiciSport Master) is assisting CyclingNSW (Mark Windsor CycNSW Historical Commission) in the restoration of the seven dernys at the DGV velodrome. A derny is a small motorised bike used in famous professional road events such as Bordeaux-Paris or for velodrome competitions. The dernys themselves were purchased for the Sydney Olympics and haven't been used for many years (if they are not used weekly they are virtually impossible to start due to the nature of the cranky little 2 stroke engine). The petrol tank sits under the front handelbars. The restoration project is looking at ways of getting the little red Belgian beasts up and working & smoking again. Typically the derny is a red colour (not sure why) and has a noisy & very smoky 2 stroke engine. Will update further on the project when John actually gets one to fire up !.
Both pictures are of Herman Van Springel in various Bordeaux Paris Classics. Each cyclist had two dernys in case one broke down during the race (not uncommon). Bordeaux Paris was 680k in length (with just one brief rest stop for a change of clothing) with the last 250k behind the derny. The derny driver was usually an ex professional & bigger was very much better. Dernys are always red for reasons unknown.