With the cycle speedway season just a month away, Kesgrave Cycle Speedway Club are hoping one of the country's biggest names can help develop many of their young stars.

With the cycle speedway season just a month away, Kesgrave Cycle Speedway Club are hoping one of the country's biggest names can help develop many of their young stars.

Vic Haines was national junior cycle speedway champion in 1964 and rode for many years at the top level.

He met riders and parents of the Kesgrave team recently to outline his thoughts and hopes for the season ahead.

Club secretary Dave Hunting, who used to race with Vic, said: “This is a monumental step forward. With so many promising youngsters in the club, then this is the obvious way forward for 2010 and beyond.

"Coaching is a very important part of cycle speedway. Bringing riders to their peak at the correct time is extremely important in this text book age of racing."

Kesgrave hit the cycle speedway headlines last season, as they came from nowhere to finish second in the British Youth and Junior League behind holders Ipswich, who again successfully defended their title.

Vic will be overall in charge of all the coaching, both for the junior and senior riders, and will undertake much of this on track with the riders themselves, having just been supplied a brand new cycle speedway bike by Archie Wilkinson.

Meanwhile Great Blakenham have pulled out of the Premier League, Britain's highest league, and even more disappointingly for Suffolk cycle speedway Ipswich have had to withdraw their second application, after their first one was refused.

Ipswich club secretary Dave Hill explained: "For the last few years Ipswich have been planning to enter a team in the Premier League.

“This year, with a number of our senior riders showing an interest in riding for their home team at top level and having the basis of a very strong combination side, we felt that 2010 was the ideal time to take the big step and bring Premier League racing to Ipswich.

"With our application in November being turned down, the late withdrawal of Great Blakenham and the other Premier teams wanting their line ups settled before Christmas, all our top riders have now agreed to ride for other teams around the country.

“This left us with the dilemma of 'do we get the riders to break their promises?' which would have been unfair on the other teams, or 'do we go with a very young team?'

“We thought that would have been unfair on the younger riders as they are not yet ready to ride at this level on a regular basis.”

However, cycle speedway in Suffolk remains strong with plenty of local action ahead over the next seven months or so.