Former captain Craig Cook returns to Edinburgh Monarchs with a little help from a new friend in Stellar Omada after a seven-season gap and the 35-year-old admitted: “The time is right.”
The Cumbria-based rider admitted that Armadale has always been a great track for him and he wants that home track advantage again.
Cook’s previous spell in the blue and gold coincided with the most successful era in the club’s history as he was the talisman in sides that lifted the then Premier League title and League cup twice plus the Knock Out Cup and Fours Championship.
The former Glasgow Tigers rider (pictured by Nigel Duncan) said: “2014 and ’15 were great and it would be nice to win some more silverware. The name of the game is to win some trophies although maybe this year I am looking at things a little bit different. The last couple of years have been very hard for me and quite stressful so we have changed things up a bit.
“This will be the first year my dad won’t be coming with me. He will still be helping me with looking after my engines and stuff like that, but Mitchell Davey will be full-time with me.
“Mitch is a great guy that I’ve worked with for several years now and we were teammates in the past. He is a great calming influence for me and I am really excited about going into next year.
“I think it will be a lot less stressful and I can just go enjoy my racing which is key.”
Cook admitted that his form suffered after getting to the Grand Prix (GP) in 2018 and he said: “I am not thinking about getting back to the GP or anything like that, I just want to get my UK form back to where it was and not worry about anything else.
Cook can’t wait to team-up with Cumbrian Kyle Bickley and he said: “He is a great kid. He has had a lot of pressure on his shoulders from a young age, but I think he has now grown into a young man and I know he has made some changes in his life. He will be a lot happier and it will be great to have him.
“I like to think I am a great team person so if anyone in the team needs anything I will be there for them and hopefully the same if I need anything from them.”
Cook’s return to the Monarchs is support ed by Stellar Omada, one of the sponsors of Heart of Midlothian FC, and their slogan is helping businesses grow through delivering innovative IT solutions. Stellar Omada are a people focussed and client driven company based at Roddinglaw near Edinburgh and they claim to be one of Scotland’s fastest growing technology services companies.
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