EDBERG, Alexander (Alex)
DATE OF BIRTH: 20 January 1991, Eskilstuna, Sweden.
BRITISH CAREER: (2011) Berwick.
2011 STARTING AVERAGE: 7.00 (PL).
ADDITIONAL INFO: Alex, as he prefers to be known, has been riding speedway since he was 15 and has come on in leaps and bounds as one of his nations’ most promising juniors. Despite his tender years, the busy Edberg has raced regularly across northern Europe and has represented clubs in Sweden (Hammarby, Ikaros Smederna, Tigrarna and Griparna), Denmark (Fjelsted), Finland (Keittiöpiste Kuusankoski, Haukat/Royals Lahti) and Poland (KMŻ Lublin).

He was an integral part of the all conquering Ikaros Smederna squad in the 2010 Swedish First Division and also played his part in Hammerby’s promotion to the Swedish Elite League, where he had none other than 2010 World Champion, Tomasz Gollob, as a team-mate.

Edberg is no stranger to British shores after being part of the Team Viking touring side in 2009 and again most recently in early 2011. Indeed, he particularly impressed at Newcastle on 10 April, when he scored 10+2 points from the No. 1 position against the USA Touring Team.

Following concern from the management of the Berwick Bandits surrounding the unexpected extended period on the sidelines of Hynek Å tichauer, the Borders club announced the signing of Edberg on 22 May as a temporary injury replacement for the exciting Czech racer.

However, Edberg was to prove impressive with the Bandits and formed a great partnership with fellow Swede Seb Aldén. As such, on 23 June, the Borders club revealed that the Eskilstuna-born racer was to become a permanent member of the team. With Štichauer fit again, this meant the Czech was released, along with the Bandits’ sincere thanks for his efforts.

Edberg was to receive multiple injuries in a horror crash at Shielfield Park on 2 July, although the news early the following morning was more encouraging. The Swede was rushed to Ashington’s Wansbeck Hospital with concern over head and chest injuries after careering through the turn four fence at high speed in heat eight of the Bandits’ clash with Rye House.

By 1.00 a.m., though, he was awake and talking to doctors, and had full memory of what had occurred. Thankfully, he also had full movement of his arms and legs, although further tests were required to determine the full extent of the damage he had sustained.

The great news in the days that followed was that Edberg would make a full recovery from the injuries he had sustained. The young Swede had undergone surgery on a broken collarbone and a chipped bone at the base of his back, and doctors reported it to be a complete success. He had full movement in all his limbs.

His collarbone had been plated and pinned, and his back had been fixed up. The broken ribs he had sustained would heal in time and his punctured lung had re-inflated and basically put itself right, and his cuts and lacerations to his forehead were no problem at all.

All indications were that he would be fully and completely fit in around 12 weeks, but he was advised to keep off the bikes for a further three months. Remarkably, the Swede was a welcome guest at the Bandits’ 48-44 win over Somerset on 9 July – just two hours after being released from hospital! And, on the night, he received great support from a collection that raised £1,012.22 from a crowd limited in numbers by dodgy weather.

EKLÖF, Linus
DATE OF BIRTH: 3 March 1989, Eskilstuna, Sweden.
BRITISH CAREER: (2009) King’s Lynn; (2010) King’s Lynn, Peterborough; (2011) Berwick.
MAJOR HONOUR: European Under-19 Team Champion: 2008.
CLUB HONOURS: League Championship winner: 2009 [King’s Lynn]; Premier Trophy winner: 2009 [King’s Lynn]; Knock-Out Cup winner: 2009 [King’s Lynn].
2011 STARTING AVERAGE: 6.43 (PL).
ADDITIONAL INFO: The Swede was signed by King’s Lynn in May 2009, as a replacement for long-term injury victim Christian Henry. He had been spotted by Stars’ co-promoter Buster Chapman in a World Under-21 Championship qualifying round at Rye House on 15 June the previous year, when he notched 7 points. Prior to his 2008 appearance at Hoddesdon, he was also a member of the Swedish side that won the European Under-19 Team Championship at Rawicz, Poland, on 22 May, when he accrued an 11-point haul.

Having linked with King’s Lynn, it was to be success all the way for Eklöf, as he posted an excellent real-time average of over 6 points per match and helped the side scoop a glorious treble of the League Championship, Premier Trophy and Knock-Out Cup.

It was therefore little surprise in November, when the Stars revealed that he would remain on board for the 2010 campaign. And, late in January, he was named as Peterborough’s No. 8, having watched and enjoyed several top-flight meetings at the East of England Showground during his first term in the UK.

In March, his position with the Panthers was upgraded to that of a ‘doubling-up’ rider, alongside Klaus Jakobsen. However, at the tail-end of May, Peterborough elected to dispense with the ‘doubling-up’ system, replacing Eklöf and Jakobsen with permanent reserve Mathieu Trésarrieu. At the time of his departure from the top-flight club, he had made just three appearances for 6 points and a 2.55 average.

Although he was maintaining an average in excess of 7 points per meeting with King’s Lynn, Eklöf decided to retire from the British racing scene in June due to personal reasons. He was replaced shortly afterwards in the Stars’ line-up by Chris Mills. Nonetheless, the Swede’s statistical record was pretty impressive, with 86 points from thirteen appearances equating to a real-time average of 7.29.

He eventually returned to the British racing scene in September 2011, when he was drafted into the Berwick line-up as an injury replacement for Kozza Smith. His arrival came after he had been strongly recommended to the Bandits by their own Swedish trio of Sebastian Aldén, Ludvig Lindgren and Alex Edberg.

EVANS, Barrie Charles
DATE OF BIRTH: 16 April 1984, King’s Lynn, Norfolk.
BRITISH CAREER: (1999) Mildenhall; (2000-01) Arena-Essex, Mildenhall; (2002) Newport, Rye House II; (2003) Hull, Rye House II; (2004) Wimbledon, Newport; (2005-07) Stoke, Stoke II; (2008) Stoke, Mildenhall; (2009) Mildenhall; (2010) Dudley; (2011) Hackney.
NOTE: Evans also appeared for Mildenhall prior to joining Dudley in 2010, but this is not credited in his career record because the club closed down prematurely, with all their matches expunged from the records.
MAJOR HONOUR: Conference League Riders’ Champion: 2003.
CLUB HONOURS: Conference Trophy winner: 2000 [Mildenhall]; Four-Team Championship winner: 2003 [Rye House II]; Pairs Championship winner: 2004 [Wimbledon].
2011 STARTING AVERAGE: 7.84 (NL).
ADDITIONAL INFO: Evans created a unique record when, having won the Conference League Riders’ Championship and CL Four-Team Championship in 2003, he also scooped the CL Pairs Championship alongside Mark Burrows on 2 June 2004, thus becoming the only rider to simultaneously hold all three titles.

In July 2008, Evans asked to be left out of the Stoke line-up, in order to take a break from racing, having struggled for form. He was subsequently deemed to be withholding his services and was handed a 28-day ban, before he resumed riding with Mildenhall. The move completed a full circle for Evans, as he had been the Fen Tigers’ mascot prior to making his official racing debut with the club in 1999.

He remained with the Suffolk outfit in 2009 and enjoyed a good season that saw him rewarded with the Rider of the Year award. Unsurprisingly, at the end of November, Mildenhall revealed that Evans would remain on board for the 2010 season.

He was maintaining an average in excess of 8 points per match when the Fen Tigers ran into off-track difficulties, which culminated in their early closure. Evans wasn’t idle for long, though, as he was drafted into the Dudley line-up early in August as cover for the injured Jon Armstrong. He went on to make ten official appearances for the former Cradley Heath team, scoring 66 points for an average of 6.86.

On 9 February 2011, the newly-formed Hackney Hawks who would race in the National League, with home meetings jointly staged at both Lakeside and Rye House, revealed that it had been agreed with all parties that Evans would come into the side in the No. 1 slot. Indeed, the rider himself was keen to be re-joining the management at Rye House after spending the previous few seasons on the books of Stoke.

The East Anglian native, however, had enjoyed some generous sponsorship from local businessmen in his neighbourhood, which was critical to his racing career. Initially, they had agreed to continue the arrangement in a Hackney role, but changed that offer to being dependent on him signing for the new Mildenhall venture.

The 2003 Conference League Riders’ Champion was devastated by the news and it became essential for him to find sponsors around Rye House and Lakeside to enable him to fulfil his promise to become the Hawks’ leading rider. However, on 14 February, it was confirmed that he had, indeed, been instated as the Hackney No. 1.  

Evans maintained an average in excess of 7 points a match over the first sector of the season, as the Hawks made a strong bid for the Play-Offs and a tilt at the League Championship. However, he was sent to the sidelines following a freak injury suffered at Lakeside on 15 July.

The 2003 Conference League Riders’ Champion had posted a paid 15-point tally during Hackney’s league victory over Buxton, only to suffer the injury at the end of the victory parade that saw the team circle the tarmac stock car circuit, which surrounds the speedway track. Evans’ right foot caught and became lodged in a small pothole in the circuit and was then hit by his footrest as the bike continued forward.

He was treated at the time by the track paramedic, but subsequent hospital X-rays on the way home were inconclusive due to the swelling that had already developed in his foot. The rider revisited his local hospital four days later, when further examination thankfully revealed no broken bones, but unfortunately also confirmed extensive tissue damage and the possibility of ligament and tendon damage.