European champion Andzejs Lebedevs is enjoying life as Latvia’s latest sporting hero after reaching the rostrum in the OlyBet FIM Speedway GP of Latvia – Riga last Saturday.
The Daugavpils-born ace captivated the Bikernieki crowd as he stormed straight through to the final, with chants of ‘Andzejs, Andzejs’ booming from the stands as he came to the tapes to race for his first Speedway GP victory.
While he had to make do with third place behind winner Brady Kurtz and second-placed Fredrik Lindgren, it was still the joint best SGP result of Lebedevs’ career – matching his third at the WWK FIM Speedway GP of Germany – Landshut on May 3.
Lebedevs remains sixth in the Speedway GP standings on 75 points and is on course to better the 10th place he achieved in his debut series last year.
The two-time Speedway European Championship winner is playing a pivotal role in raising the sport’s profile in Latvia and is delighted to stand tall in a nation of sporting stars.
He said: “Latvia is such a talented country. We have 1.8 million people living here, but we have so many great athletes in sports like ice hockey, basketball and bobsleigh.
“We have so many heroes and top-level athletes and I can’t explain how this works, but I am so proud that I am Latvian. I try my best and like everyone in Speedway GP, I just want to be world champion.
“I can say thank you to everyone for organising this GP to make speedway more popular in Latvia. Of course, I try my best as a sportsman and local hero. Tickets sold very fast, and I think next year we will see another full stadium.”
Lebedevs celebrates his 31st birthday in November and achieved Speedway GP stardom relatively late in his career compared to some of his rivals. But he never gave up on reaching the sport’s big time.
“I have worked hard like everyone here,” the 30-year-old said. “Brady is showing that nothing is impossible. He has also grown up very slowly in his career. Me too. I stayed strong mentally and I now understand my bikes more. Hard work has paid off.”
Lebedevs admits he is getting more and more comfortable with the attention and expectation that now accompanies him in Latvian rounds.
He said: “I wish that I could have got my first GP win because my family and friends were there – the whole city of Daugavpils came to support me, and also Riga. It was such a nice feeling when I came out to the track and most of the crowd was supporting me.
“That was special, and I didn’t stress about this because I really enjoyed it. Last year I had this support, and I had big stress about that. Everyone comes here for success from me.
“It’s something special. On Saturday, I just enjoyed it – what happened around me – and I enjoyed the speedway like a kid who has just started racing.”