TEAM boss Neil Middleditch is excited to welcome back “great friend” Tony Rickardsson to Wimborne Road.

Six-time world champion Rickardsson is tomorrow set to ride laps at his old stomping ground during the club’s 70th anniversary meeting.

Reminiscing about the legendary Swede’s time at Pirates, Middleditch told the Daily Echo: “Tony used to live with me, we became great friends and still keep in contact.

“Tony lifted the bar in terms of equipment, set-up and professionalism, and he left a legacy for riders now to look at.

“Many riders hold him in great esteem and it doesn’t get much better than being a six-time world champion.

“He is a great guy and really down to earth. I have always had riders living with me and they are all part of the family.

“He was a run-of-the-mill guy but, when he put his race suit on, he was all business.

“When Tony retired, he left me one of his bikes and the boys came down the other day and had a look at it. They said, even years later, the bike was still very contemporary and up there.”