NEW-BOY Lewis Rose admits that it was a pleasant surprise to be picked by the Swindon Robins in this week’s Elite Riders Draft.

The 25-year-old, who rode as a reserve for King’s Lynn Stars last season, was selected by Swindon team manager Alun Rossiter from the tier two set of riders during the draft in Coventry, with the Robins also snapping up Charles Wright.

The former motocross rider is going in to only his third season in speedway and says that he will be taking a relative step into the unknown when he first turns out at the Abbey Stadium but Rose is looking forward to linking up with his new team.

“It was a bit of a shock to be picked by Swindon. I thought that I might go back to Lynn or if it wasn’t there, then it would be somewhere like Leicester,” said Rose.

“I used to ride in motocross, getting to the British Championship and things like that, so I’ve only been doing speedway a few years.

“I’ve only ridden at Swindon twice but I liked it the last time I was there (on August 21). I only spoke to Rosco for the first time on the phone the other day but he seemed cool and I’m looking forward to it.

“I think a fresh start will be good for me.”

This year’s season came to a premature end for Rose after he suffered knee ligament damage in a crash whilst riding for Premier League outfit Newcastle Diamonds at the Glasgow Tigers in August, just three days after appearing for King’s Lynn at the Abbey Stadium.

He said: “The knee’s all fine now. I’ve been doing a lot of work in the gym and things like that and I’m going to try to have a ride on a few tracks over the winter.

“I haven’t been on a bike since then but I’m used to getting injuries from my time doing motocross, so I’ve got no worries about jumping back on a bike – I’m ready to do it right now.”