PETERBOROUGH are pleased to announce the signings of Lasse Bjerre and Ben Barker as their 2019 line-up nears completion.
Bjerre and Barker, who have both had successful previous stints with the Panthers at Championship level, will start the season as a powerful-looking reserve combination in the Premiership for the East of England Arena side.
25-year-old Dane Bjerre rode for the club in 2014 when he topped the averages in the old Premier League, and has also appeared in the top flight for Panthers, King’s Lynn, Swindon, Leicester and Wolverhampton.
Barker, 30, won the Elite League with Coventry in 2010 and reached further play-offs with Birmingham.
His last spell with Peterborough came in the second half of the 2015 season after a lengthy injury absence – where a brilliant 18-point maximum at Sheffield in the play-off quarter-finals lives long in the memory.
They join heat-leader trio Chris Harris, Hans Andersen and Craig Cook, with Charles Wright also confirmed in the middle-order.
Panthers co-promoter Ged Rathbone said: “Lasse and Ben are definitely two No.1s at Championship level, and they’re two riders who both have a strong association with Peterborough and the current management team.
“Both have been Panthers riders in the past but they’ve also been riders we’ve called upon when we’ve needed guests, and they’ve always been a pleasure to work with as far as we’re concerned.
“We’ve kept in touch with both over the last few years, and we are delighted to bring them back – and what a reserve pairing it gives us, whoever is there at various stages of the season.
“We’ve tried to build our team obviously with the intention of reaching the play-offs and winning trophies, but also to be a team with strong Peterborough connections.
“We feel we have experience but also the potential for several riders to improve throughout the team, and real strength-in-depth.
“It’s completely the team of the Peterborough management; it’s a team that we wanted to put together, and we feel very confident that it can be successful.”
Panthers will name the final member of what is shaping up to be a highly competitive septet on Thursday morning.