THE world's top cycle speedway riders came to Manchester for the World Cycle Speedway Championships.
The staging clubs, Astley & Tyldesley and Bury, put on a superbh display of top class racing. which was fast and furious, with no shortage of incident and controversy.
Seven teams contested the World Team Cup at Astley with first blood going to Poland, as England's Lee Aris shed a chain in heat four, but managed to scoot round to avoid being lapped, and secure a vital point.
The very next race saw Poland's Lukasz Nowacki forced off the track by two opponents, but controversially, English referee John Whiting excluded the Pole for leaving the track, to put England a point ahead.
The remainder of the match consisted of a titanic battle between England and Poland for the top spot, with the other five teams competing for third place. Nowacki's exclusion proved to be a key factor, as England went on to retain the World Team Cup, beating Poland by a point.
A late surge by Scotland saw them overtake Australia to take third place.
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