JamesC1979

Pointless topic. If Poole want to replace Smart it will have to be from the original list of 23 riders. Lambert will not replace him, he was offered the opportunity to be part of the group of 30 riders but turned it down thus he shouldn't be allowed any rides as part of the system. Holder also won't ride mainly because he would have to commit to riding for Team GB for 5 years which he isn't going to do. What I expect to happen during the course of the season is for the list of 23 riders to expand to take account of injuries and loss of form, but it will do so for young GB riders who were not offered the opportunity at the start of the season (i.e. those riders that would have been ranked 30-40 on the original list).

No Lambert is not a surprise. I am guessing that he didn't want to forgo the opportunity to ride in Germany or have the possibility of riding somewhere else other than Kings Lynn.

The draft format needs looking at. In the current system Poole will get the benefit of having a protected pick (Kyle Newman) who they are guaranteed to be able to pick up with the 10th pick (which they have on the basis they won the league). They then get 11th pick to get the next best rider, so they are going to end up with the arguably the best rider drafted in the first round and the best in the second round. How is that fair. Think we would all agree that Newman is far better than the 10th best rider on the list and would go far earlier in a true draft than 10th. Will the proposals to change the meeting structure the strength of a teams reserves will have a huge bearing on the result of a meeting.