Swedish superstar Victor Palovaara has praised the Glasgow fans for helping his team reach this weekend’s British Premier League Championship Final.
And he hopes they can give their biggest backing ever when the Tigers take on Edinburgh in tonight’s first leg at the Peugeot Ashfield Stadium.
The 21-year-old has enjoyed his most successful season, including a ninth-placed finish in the World Under-21 Championship, and will cap it all by taking part in the biggest Scottish derby ever.
He’s out to enjoy the occasion but believes the Tigers can push the reigning champions all the way.
He said: “It’s going to be really fun to go out and ride in the final. Will do everything to win.
“I think it will be two really tough meetings – they are a really good team but so are we. We have beat them before so we can do it again.
“It would be awesome to win. We have got really good support from the fans and I hope it’s going to be even better this weekend. We are going for the gold.”
Palovaara has risen in the Tigers ranks from reserve to second string this season, but will line up in tomorrow’s second leg at Armadale in the No 5 heatleader position, as team boss Stewart Dickson looks to make best use of his resources.
He added: “I think my season as been up and down, some meetings I’ve raced well and some have been not so good, so I would like to be more consistent.
“I wanted to achieved a little bit more in the UK, but if I look at my whole year I think it’s been good and I have got a lot better. I know what I need to work harder for next year.”
The build-up starts when gates open at 4pm with a host of entertainment on offer both before and during tonight’s meeting, which gets under way at 7.30pm.
Tapes-up at Armadale for the deciding leg tomorrow is at 7pm.
First leg line-ups:
Glasgow: 1 – Richard Lawson, 2 – Kauko Nieminen R/R, 3 – Nick Morris, 4 – Victor Palovaara, 5 – Aaron Summers, 6 – Hynek Stichauer, 7 – James Sarjeant.
Edinburgh: 1 – Craig Cook, 2 – Justin Sedgmen, 3 – Kevin Wolbert, 4 – Erik Riss, 5 – Sam Masters, 6 – Max Clegg, 7 – Robert Branford.
Second leg line-ups:
Edinburgh: 1 – Craig Cook, 2 – Justin Sedgmen, 3 – Kevin Wolbert, 4 – Erik Riss, 5 – Sam Masters, 6 – Max Clegg, 7 – Robert Branford.
Glasgow: 1 – Richard Lawson, 2 – Kauko Nieminen R/R, 3 – Aaron Summers, 4 – Nick Morris, 5 – Victor Palovaara, 6 – Hynek Stichauer, 7 – James Sarjeant.