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THE BSPA are pleased to confirm Great Britain boss Alun Rossiter will again be taking his squad to Croatia for a pre-season training camp in 2017.And in further good news for the national side, a formal tie-up with Poultec Training is now in place which will see the riders benefit from the state-of-the-art facilities at their Norfolk base.Members of the GB squad built up to the 2016 campaign with the trip to Gorican, where they were joined by fitness professional Paul Suggitt, who has also put the sport’s aspiring youngsters through their paces over the last year as part of the Poultec apprenticeship scheme.The 2017 preparations in Croatia will also involve the senior squad being joined by some of the country’s top under-21s in the build-up to the new season.Rossiter said: “The Croatian trip was very successful last March, and I’d like to place on record my thanks to the BSPA for their support in making sure it happens again in 2017.“We’ll be going in the first week of March once again. It was a good way to start things off in 2016 building up to a very successful night in Manchester at the World Cup, and it’s very worthwhile for the British boys with that event in mind as well as for their own individual seasons.“We know this is something other nations have done for several years and I’m pleased we can now offer our riders the facilities to get some serious practice done and make sure they are in good shape. “I’m also delighted to be teaming up with Poultec, and we are extremely grateful to Ed Bales (Poultec MD) for what he has to offer, as well as Olly Allen who is so committed to the apprenticeship scheme and has given me great support.“Their facilities are second to none. We can put the boys through their paces in terms of fitness work, the gym equipment there is outstanding, and they also have an outdoor track area used in their training courses which will be ideal for team bonding exercises.“There’s been a very good team atmosphere at recent World Cups but it’s always something which can be improved still further, which is not always easy when the riders are only really coming together for a few days, and so this will be another benefit.“I took a look at the facilities last season on a day when Swindon were racing at King’s Lynn, I had a chat with the people there and I was hugely impressed with everything they have to offer.“We’ll be getting together before we go to Croatia just to see where the boys are at, and when we get out there we’ll be doing further assessments as well as getting them plenty of track time at an ideal venue for pre-season work.“This has all been in our plans for a while, and a lot of hard work has gone into putting it all together. It doesn’t happen overnight but over the last year or so things have fallen into place and now we’ve been able to go that one step further with the help of Ed, who I can’t thank enough for his support.”

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STOKE have moved to sign Mitchell Davey as their new No.1 for the 2017 National League campaign.The 26-year-old made a successful return to racing with Coventry Storm this year and is also set to line up for Edinburgh in the SGB Championship next season.Potters boss Malcolm Vasey said: “This is a brilliant capture for Stoke and gives us a very competitive line-up.“With our top three of Mitchell, Luke (Priest) and Tony (Atkin) combined with the high-impact reserve which we believe David Wallinger will be, the team is now coming together very well and there is no reason why we cannot be a force in the National League in 2017.”