ROBINS v GB LIONS: Andersen will have his Hans full (From Swindon Advertiser)

ROBINS v GB LIONS: Andersen will have his Hans full

6:00am Thursday 21st March 2013 in Sport By Andy Warren

SWINDON skipper Hans Andersen is set for the busiest year of his life both on and off the track.

As well as riding for the Robins in the Elite League the Dane has commitments with Vastervik in Sweden, Bydgoszcz in Poland and Fjelsted in his homeland, as well as Grand Prix qualifiers and a possible appearance in the World Cup.

Andersen is also planning his testimonial which will be staged at Blunsdon, and the 32-year-old and his partner Christina are also expecting their first child in June.

The former Grand Prix rider is excited about becoming a dad for the first time, but isn’t expecting fatherhood to change the way he approaches his riding.

“I can’t wait for it because there is a new life which is waiting to begin, and I am really excited,” he said.

“It won’t change the way I ride on track, but it will give me a different time when I go home which will help me relax more when I get back because there are other things than speedway for me.

“It’s hard to say now but I can’t see it getting in the way of me doing meetings, but I will still ride the same and keep on racing like I always have.”

Andersen had planned to hold his testimonial close to the British Grand Prix at Cardiff on June 1, but has had to shelve the idea because due to the potential arrival of he and Christina’s baby.

When a date is set, the Swindon number one is hoping to give the fans a night to remember and something a little bit different.

“I have a few ideas about the format I want to run the meeting on and things like that, but nothing concrete yet,” he said.

“I haven’t really had time to pen down a date yet, although I did think about having the Thursday before Cardiff which would have been ideal because of all the supporters travelling there and the chance of having some of the GP boys in there.

“But Cardiff is a little bit too early this year, and that means it’s too close to when the baby is due so I don’t really want to miss that because of my testimonial.

“I haven’t asked anyone to ride yet because I couldn’t really without a date or without knowing I was definitely riding for Swindon, but I will start work soon.

“I hope it will be exciting or a bit different because I want to think up something different and something new, and I want the fans to be able to watch something they don’t normally see.”