Stal Gorzów faces injuries and lineup shake‑up as EkstraLiga playoff race tightens
Stal Gorzów entered the latest round of the PGE Ekstraliga with several key riders unavailable. Australian Jack Holder broke his arm, a broken collarbone and a lumbar injury in the Wrocław Grand Prix, ruling him out for weeks. Czech rider Adam Bednar also suffered a crash and will miss the upcoming match. The club’s announced line‑up therefore omits Holder and lists replacements such as Oskar Paluch and Anders Thomsen.
The team travels to face FOGO Unia Leszno in Gorzów on 28 June. Both sides will be missing stars – Stal without Holder and Leszno without Janusz Kołodziej, who is nursing a shoulder injury. The match is crucial for the playoff hunt, with Stal currently seventh on 10 points and Leszno fourth on 14.
In a separate fixture, Sparta Wrocław defeated Stal 51‑39, highlighted by a dominant performance from Sparta’s senior riders while Stal struggled without its leaders. Junior Oskar Paluch spoke after his own race, saying, “Szkoda, że miałem defekt, bo jechałem tym motocyklem na próbie toru… wróciłem jednak, dorzucając cenne punkty na wagę zwycięstwa.”
The league table remains tightly packed, with Grudziądz, Wrocław, Leszno and Toruń all within a point of each other. Injuries and roster changes at Stal Gorzów could influence their push for a playoff spot in the final five rounds.