Subedei

Well everyone, I should be back next week, but my lovely assistant ZKZ Kitten might be attending Zielona Gora's meeting against Czestochowa in the final round of meetings in the regular season. And next week's meetings are: Bydgoszcz versus Gdansk Tarnow versus Torun Leszno versus Wroclaw Zielona Gora versus Czestochowa So, the top 2 clash on the final day. You've got to fancy Tarnow to turn over Torun at home. And you've also got to fancy Bydgoszcz to turn over Gdansk. Which could see Torun, after leading for so long, relegated to 3rd place.

Hazzman, it sounds like Tarnow are tiring of Rickardsson's attitude towards his Polish league commitments this season. I'd guess that Nicholls is being lined up as a potential long-term replacement.

Well, that's a bit of a tonking for ZKZ, but Gdansk are starting to look the Ekstra Liga part. My thanks to ZKZ Kitten for her help and to anyone who looked in. I'm sure that through tear filled eyes ZKZ Kitten will provide us with a league table in due course and then tomorrow the top 10 averages will follow.

Well, it's not looking too good for Zielona Gora, but I'm sure that ZKZ Kitten will remain "semper fidelis" no matter what happens. A home defeat is a mighty blow for Crump & Co at Torun. But it'll certainly soften the blow of defeat at Wroclaw for Tarnow. You've got to say Tarnow are looking very good for retaining the crown. A super showing from Jonsson and Sawina as Bydgoszcz deal what you'd say is a fatal blow to Czestochowa's challenge.

My lovely assistant is back from her holiday and will be guiding you all through the Zielona Gora meeting.

It's unfortunate and it may affect the way people regard Nicholls. But Rickardsson pulled out of a testimonial early in the season once he signed for Arena Essex. And Nicholls is probably looking to his future. Riding regularly in Poland should make him a better rider.

Didn't it lead to the short-lived "British Open" pairs event?

And last, but by no means least, Jason Crump's table-topping Torun host Leigh Adams' Leszno. Leszno will be without Robert Kasprzak, who's been suspended for 6 months by the Polish authorities following an incident with Rune Holta in the last round of meetings. ------------------------------ Torun..41 9..J Crump..2,2,2,0,3,2',2 = 13+1 10..K Zabik R/R 11..M Puszakowski..2,1',1' = 4+2 12..A Smith..1',2,0,1,1,0 = 5+1 13..W Jagus..1',2,1',2,3,3,0 = 12+2 14..M Jagus..0 = 0 15..A Miedzinski..1,1',2,1',1,1 = 7+2 Leszno..49 1..L Adams..3,3,3,2,1 = 12 2..A Skornicki..0,0,0 = 0 3..D Balinski..3,3,3,2,3 = 14 4..L Jankowski..0,0,0,0 = 0 5..J Rempala..0,1,3,1,2' = 7+1 6..N Kosciuch..2',2',0 = 4+2 7..K Kasprzak..3,3,3,0,3 = 12 Ht 1..Kasprzak, Kosciuch, Miedzinski, M Jagus 1-5 (1-5) Ht 2..Adams, Crump, W Jagus, Skornicki 3-3 (4-8) Ht 3..Balinski, Puszakowski, Smith, Jankowski [Fall] 3-3 (7-11) Ht 4..Kasprzak, W Jagus, Miedzinski, Rempala 3-3 (10-14) Ht 5..Adams, Smith, Puszakowski, Skornicki 3-3 (13-17) Ht 6..Balinski, Miedzinski, W Jagus, Jankowski 3-3 (16-20) Ht 7..Kasprzak, Crump, Rempala, Smith [Ex] 2-4 (18-24) Ht 8..Adams, W Jagus, Miedzinski, Skornicki 3-3 (21-27) Ht 9..Balinski, Crump, Puszakowski, Jankowski 3-3 (24-30) Ht 10..Rempala, Kosciuch, Smith, Crump 1-5 (25-35) Ht 11..Crump, Balinski, Miedzinski, Jankowski 4-2 (29-37) Ht 12..W Jagus, Adams, Smith, Kosciuch 4-2 (33-39) Ht 13..W Jagus, Crump, Rempala, Kasprzak 5-1 (38-40) Ht 14..Kasprzak, Rempala, Miedzinski, Smith [Ex] 1-5 (39-45) Ht 15..Balinski, Crump, Adams, W Jagus [Ex/T] 2-4 (41-49) ------------------------------ Notes: 1..Ht 2 and W Jagus takes the R/R ride for Torun. 2..Ht 4 and Miedzinski replaces M Jagus for Torun, while Kasprzak replaces Kosciuch for Leszno. 3..Ht 6 and Miedzinski replaces M Jagus for Torun. 4..Ht 7 and Smith takes the R/R ride for Torun, while Kasprzak replaces Kosciuch for Leszno. 5..Ht 7 and Smith gets up to mischief and is excluded. 6..Ht 8 and Miedzinski replaces M Jagus for Torun. 7..Ht 9 and Puszakowski takes the R/R ride for Torun. 8..Ht 10 and Crump replaces Puszakowski in a tactical move by Torun. 9..Ht 11 and Miedzinski replaces M Jagus for Torun. 10..Ht 12 and W Jagus replaces Puszakowski in a tactical move by Torun. 11..Ht 13 and Crump takes the R/R ride for Torun, while Kasprzak replaces Skornicki for Leszno. 12..Ht 14 and Smith gets up to mischief and is excluded. 13..Ht 14 and a Leszno 5-1 sees Torun beaten at home. 14..Ht 15 and it gets worse for Torun, as W Jagus gets up to mischief at the tapes and is excluded. 15..A super away win for Leszno, but a woeful show from Torun, who only managed to provide 3 of the 15 heat winners. Bonus points calculated per British Elite League. All details from: http://www.sportowefakty.pl

This weekends third meeting sees mid-table Wroclaw host reigning champions Tarnow. Tarnow will probably be missing the injured Tony Rickardsson, but will Scott Nicholls be his replacement as they bid to take another step towards retaining their crown? ------------------------------ Wroclaw..47 9..T Gapinski..1,2',2,3,0 = 8+1 10..H Andersen..3,3,0,3,1 = 10 11..K Slabon..3,2,2,3,0 = 10 12..P Swiderski..1,1',0,2' = 4+2 13..J Hampel..0,3,3,0,3 = 9 14..R Jamrozy..3,2,1,0,0 = 6 15..M Pacholak..0 = 0 Tarnow..43 1..S Nicholls..2,3,2,1,1,2' = 11+1 2..S Burza = 0 3..J Gollob..2,0,2,1' = 5+1 4..G Rempala..0,2,1' = 3+1 5..T Gollob..3,1,3,3,2,3 = 15 6..M Rempala..1',1,0,1,0 = 3+1 7..J Kolodziej..2,0,0,1',1,2 = 6+1 Ht 1..Jamrozy, Kolodziej, M Rempala, Pacholak 3-3 (3-3) Ht 2..Andersen, Nicholls, Gapinski, Kolodziej 4-2 (7-5) Ht 3..Slabon, J Gollob, Swiderski, G Rempala 4-2 (11-7) Ht 4..T Gollob, Jamrozy, M Rempala, Hampel [E/F] 2-4 (13-11) Ht 5..Nicholls, Slabon, Swiderski, Kolodziej 3-3 (16-14) Ht 6..Hampel, G Rempala, Jamrozy, J Gollob 4-2 (20-16) Ht 7..Andersen, Gapinski, T Gollob, M Rempala 5-1 (25-17) Ht 8..Hampel, Nicholls, Kolodziej, Jamrozy 3-3 (28-20) Ht 9..T Gollob, Gapinski, Nicholls, Andersen 2-4 (30-24) Ht 10..T Gollob, Slabon, M Rempala, Swiderski 2-4 (32-28) Ht 11..Gapinski, J Gollob, G Rempala, Jamrozy [E/F] 3-3 (35-31) Ht 12..Slabon, Swiderski, Nicholls, M Rempala [E/F] 5-1 (40-32) Ht 13..Andersen, T Gollob, Kolodziej, Hampel [Ex] 3-3 (43-35) Ht 14..Hampel, Kolodziej, J Gollob, Gapinski 3-3 (46-38) Ht 15..T Gollob, Nicholls, Andersen, Slabon 1-5 (47-43) ------------------------------ Notes: 1..Ht 2 and Kolodziej replaces Burza for Tarnow. 2..Ht 5 and Kolodziej replaces Burza for Tarnow. 3..Ht 8 and Kolodziej replaces Burza for Tarnow. 4..Ht 9 and the big guns are wheeled out for Tarnow, as T Gollob replaces G Rempala and Nicholls replaces J Gollob. 5..Ht 13 and Kolodziej replaces Burza for Tarnow. 6..Ht 13 and Hampel gets up to mischief and is excluded. Bonus points calculated per British Elite League. All details from: http://www.sportowefakty.pl

The first of this weekend's Ekstra Liga meetings sees Ryan Sullivan's strong Czestochowa team hosting Andreas Jonsson's Bydgoszcz. It should be a comfortable win for Czestochowa, but they'll miss Szczepaniak who is injured after his terrible crash at Tarnow during the week. ------------------------------ Czestochowa..44 9..R Sullivan..1',3,3,1,0 = 8+1 10..S Ulamek..2,2',1,1,1 = 7+1 11..G Walasek..1',2,2',2,0 = 7+2 12..S Drabik..2,1,3,1' = 7+1 13..R Holta..3,3,3,3,1 = 13 14..M Ciura..0,1,0,0 = 1 15..P Dadela..1,0 = 1 Bydgoszcz..46 1..A Jonsson..3,3,2,2',3,2' = 15+2 2..K Krzyzaniak..0,1',0 = 1+1 3..R Sawina..3,2,2,3,3,3 = 16 4..M Robacki..0,0,0 = 0 5..P Protasiewicz..2,1,1,2,2' = 8+1 6..K Buczkowski..2',0 = 2+1 7..K Klecha..3,1',0,0,0 = 4+1 Ht 1..Klecha, Buczkowski, Dadela, Ciura 1-5 (1-5) Ht 2..Jonsson, Ulamek, Sullivan, Krzyzaniak 3-3 (4-8) Ht 3..Sawina, Drabik, Walasek, Robacki [E/F] 3-3 (7-11) Ht 4..Holta, Protasiewicz, Klecha, Dadela 3-3 (10-14) Ht 5..Jonsson, Walasek, Drabik, Buczkowski 3-3 (13-17) Ht 6..Holta, Sawina, Ciura, Robacki [E/F] 4-2 (17-19) Ht 7..Sullivan, Ulamek, Protasiewicz, Klecha [E/F] 5-1 (22-20) Ht 8..Holta, Jonsson, Krzyzaniak, Ciura 3-3 (25-23) Ht 9..Sullivan, Sawina, Ulamek, Robacki 4-2 (29-25) Ht 10..Drabik, Walasek, Protasiewicz, Klecha 5-1 (34-26) Ht 11..Sawina, Jonsson, Sullivan, Ciura 1-5 (35-31) Ht 12..Jonsson, Walasek, Drabik, Klecha [Ex] 3-3 (38-34) Ht 13..Holta, Protasiewicz, Ulamek, Krzyzaniak 4-2 (42-36) Ht 14..Sawina, Protasiewicz, Ulamek, Walasek 1-5 (43-41) Ht 15..Sawina, Jonsson, Holta, Sullivan 1-5 (44-46) ------------------------------ Notes: 1..Ht 4 and Dadela replaces Ciura for Czestochowa, while Klecha replaces Buczkowski for Bydgoszcz. 2..Ht 5 and Buczkowski replaces Krzyzaniak for Bydgoszcz. 3..Ht 7 and Klecha replaces Buczkowski for Bydgoszcz. 4..Ht 10 and Klecha replaces Buczkowski for Bydgoszcz. 5..Ht 11 and Jonsson replaces Robacki in a tactical move by Bydgoszcz. 6..Ht 12 and Klecha replaces Buczkowski for Bydgoszcz. 7..Ht 12 and with Bydgoszcz on a 5-1, Klecha gets up to mischief and is excluded. 8..Ht 15 and it's a last heat decider with Sullivan and Holta for Czestochowa against Jonsson and Sawina for Bydgoszcz. 9..And 5-1s in Hts 14 and 15 see Bydgoszcz score a super away win against Czestochowa. Bonus points calculated per British Elite League. All details from: http://www.sportowefakty.pl

Okay, so I missed 2 obvious choices. Dear me, the Poles should be looking awfully strong in 2010.

I knew I'd missed someone obvious. And God alone knows how many other good young riders the Poles will have found in the next 5 years.

I thought Tomasz Gollob did a pretty good job in Ht 12 of the Prague GP. Nicki P didn't leave him any room, but Gollob just steamed past him anyway. I doubt if Nicki P will be so bold the next time he races against Gollob.

Exactly. But the young riders have also got to get themselves into the top flight over here at the first opportunity as well. It's far too late to be breaking into the Elite League at 23. You've got no hope.

The Poles in 5 years time? Well, it could look like this: J Kolodziej M Rempala K Kasprzak R Miskowiak P Hlib And, you never know, at 39 TG might still be going strong (as might Leigh Adams for the Australians).

I certainly hope Floppy will be back, eventually. But you begin to wonder if this is a career threatening injury. He's not the youngest and he had that terrible smash towards the end of last season.

In fairness, aside from Norris, they've all had their chance and done precious little. It's the young up-and-coming riders who we ought to be thinking about. How are riders like Iversen, Bjerre, Miskowiak, Kasprzak and so on, going to get into the circus?

Prague's actually trying to rid itself of "stag parties" and attract higher end tourists. The current "in" places for stag parties, I am told, are Krakow and Tallinn. But Prague still gets it's share.

Wasn't absinth, was it?

Well, it's obviously super news (if it's true), but I hope the fellow is not pushing things too much.

Thought the television director had a "pink cowboy hat fetish". The hats were on screen nearly as often as Scott Nicholls. Anyway, I trust the fairies had a wonderful time in the "Golden City".

Don't bet against Gollob getting into the top 8. He looked bang on the pace in Prague and his usual performance at Bydgoszcz will shoot him up the standings. Hans Andersen would look to be the most vulnerable of your picks. He was dreadful in Prague.

Well, Holta was the "wild card" for the Swedish GP. It'd be a bit dodgy putting him in again now that he's a born again Pole.

I guess the Swedes want to be there when TR makes sure of his 6th crown.

You begin to wonder where Hampel would be in the standings if he hadn't missed the 2nd and 3rd GPs. Having watched the GP again, Nicki P didn't leave Gollob a lot of room going into turn 3 in Ht 12. Fair play to TG for keeping it wound on, many a rider would have shut off and tried to move up the inside.