Stars’ skipper full of optimism ahead of new campaign

King’s Lynn skipper Josh Pickering says there’s every reason for the club to be optimistic for a strong season.

Pickering is heading into his second year at the Adrian Flux Arena having made a big impression in 2022.

The Australian was immediately identified as a natural leader by team boss Alex Brady and handed the club captaincy despite being a newcomer to the side.

And he was responsible for many of the most spectacular moments of the campaign, before suffering a drop-off in the closing weeks when he was affected by injury.

Stars bosses elected to bring back five of the riders who completed the season, including late-summer recruits Nicolai Klindt and Frederik Jakobsen, with Krzysztof Kasprzak and Michael Palm Toft the new signings for this year – the Dane returning to the club after two years with Peterborough.

Pickering said: “I’m pretty excited with the team, with a couple of new faces and a couple of familiar faces!

“I think the team has been built with strength-in-depth, which is very important, and we’re always going to have a good, strong reserve.

“I feel we’ll also have good back-up through the middle this year, and with the one-to-seven we have I think it’s going to go very well.

“Jason (Edwards) has had a look now and he understands how the league works, and he understands all the tracks, and I’m sure he’ll be setting some personal goals for himself as well.”

Edwards takes the Rising Star berth after impressing in the closing weeks of last season, whilst Klindt will start the season in the No.1 spot although several riders will have their eyes on that position.

There’s little doubt that the Stars’ campaign capsized midway through 2022 when Niels-Kristian Iversen was prevented from racing in the UK due to restrictions in Poland, and they never truly found a solution until Klindt and Jakobsen came in.

By then it was too late to challenge for the play-offs but the late moves did have a significant effect when it came to planning for this season.

Pickering said: “It was unfortunate what happened with Niels, and I think we had about six matches without a No.1.

“The only team we raced against who also didn’t have a No.1 on the night was Wolverhampton and we beat them 55-35 at home.

“That goes to show how important it is to have your own team, not a guest or anything like that.”

The Stars open their Premiership campaign at Wolverhampton on Monday, with the return fixture at the Adrian Flux Arena on April 13.

Between those matches, there is also a return KO Cup trip to Sheffield next Thursday (April 6).