GLASGOW captain Aaron Summers reckons speedway riders are the among hardest-working men in sport – as he prepares to face six massive meetings in six days.
The Australian will travel more than 1,200 miles and work round the clock in a hectic schedule that starts tonight with the Premier League play-offs semi-final at Sheffield.
He’s then in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Leicester, Newcastle and Glasgow again as he competes across two leagues in three competitions.
But he can’t wait to keep busy – and says it’ll keep him sharp for the Tigers’ bid to become Premier League and KO Cup champions.
Summers said: “There are a lot of people who are finished and have packed everything away now. They’re the important meetings at this time of year, so it’s good to be in them.
“Being busy keeps you on your toes and the sharpness in your racing, although it can take its toll on you if you don’t have a good team around you to help you out.
“But I’m sure over the next few days the boys are all going to enjoy it and now is the time we need to be scoring the big points, pick the trophies up and earn some money for the winter.
“You have to be fit to race the bike, but you’ve got to wash the bike after every meeting, you’ve got all the travelling to do – that’s what takes its toll. It’s not so much the racing, it’s the lack of sleep and being on the go constantly. That’s the hard bit.
“Many people don’t see the amount of hours that go into the workshop behind the scenes before and after the meeting. Some think you just go home and do nothing – it’s not the case – and if you ride two bikes there are two lots to do.
“We don’t get paid the kind of money other top sports stars do, so we need to try and race as much as possible to make a living.
“The more meetings, the better for us – but it is a lot of work to do outside of racing.”
Glasgow host Sheffield tomorrow at 7.30pm and Summers says it’ll be a special occasion – just like most nights under the lights at the Peugeot Ashfield Stadium.
He said: “We need to keep it close so that we don’t have such a big job to do at home and there’s not so much pressure on ourselves to reach the final.
“The meetings we’ve had at night have all been big meetings – either Sky Sports broadcasts or when we’ve been in the play-offs. Any of these meetings at this time of year bring more people, so the vibe will be good.”