GB go for World Cup glory

Harris: new captain

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Team Great Britain get their campaign for the 2009 FIM Tobet Speedway World Cup underway on Monday 13th July, live on Sky Sports 2.

GB are at Peterborough's East of England Showground, as they take on Australia, Poland and Slovenia bidding for a place in the final in Leszno, Poland.

Only the winners head straight to the final in Leszno on 18th July, while the second and third-placed teams head to a race-off in Leszno on Thursday.

Rob Lyon, who goes into the event as Great Britain team manager for the first time, has caused quite a stir by leaving out the established skipper, Grand Prix rider Scott Nicholls and also Lee Richardson. Instead he has picked a youthful line up with Chris Harris taking over as captain.

Alongside Harris (26) will be Edward Kennett (22), Lewis Bridger (19) Tai Woffinden (18) and Daniel King (22), in what will be one of the youngest Lions squads ever to represent Great Britain.

"When I came in my remit was clear - to win the World Cup in the next five or six years," said Lyon.

"The only way that you can do that is to start bringing some of the youngsters through. We have three or four riders who need the experience in that sort of arena. It is time for change, we need to freshen it and we need to move on.

"The beauty of the tournament for us this year is that there is absolutely no pressure on those boys at all. They all know that, but they all want to give 100 per cent, and you will see that on Monday, and the supporters will hopefully get right behind that. My belief is that they will surprise a few people on Monday night."

Priority

Lyon recognises that while many share his view about blooding youngsters in the pressure cooker environment of a World Cup, there has been some scepticism about how well the team can perform.

"We have Lee and Scott available, and they may play a part if we make it through. The priority is to make sure that we qualify for the race-off or indeed the final. We have to be realistic though, we are putting out a side that is building for the future, not necessarily for this year. We obviously want to do as well as we can, and that's to make the race-off at the very least."

Lyon will be relying heavily on Chris Harris, who won the British Grand Prix in 2007, to provide a solid backbone for the team. "Chris has experience at the Grand Prix level and he's captain at Coventry this season, so he's experienced the pressures of riding at that level of competition, so there is no reason why he can't get the boys motivated.

"They all get on well together which is a major plus. Team spirit has to be right, if it's not, then you are not going to get the best out of anybody."

Lyon remains confident that this will be a building block for the future, and win or lose it will bring the younger riders on. He also feels that his young guns can get the crowd on their feet come Monday. "The crowd can play a huge part, and we aim to give them something to shout about."