Top Polish speedway ace Krzysztof Cegielski is joining Eastbourne Eagles.

Cegielski, who shot to fame last season with rivals Poole Pirates, will spearhead the Sussex club's bid for their second Elite League title in three years.

Eastbourne will announce their line-up for the 2002 season later this week, but I can exclusively reveal that Cegielski is the man they will unveil as their world championship Grand Prix star.

The club see the 22-year-old former university student from Gdansk as the rider to help bring back the good times to Arlington after a disappointing campaign last season.

I understand they opted to sign Cegielski in front of former world champions Billy Hamill and Mark Loram, both of whom were available.

Cegielski made a stunning debut at Eastbourne last year when he scored 16 points and beat Eagles' top two riders, Martin Dugard and Joe Screen.

He was voted Poole's rider of the year, but they have been forced to release either Cegielski or world champion Tony Rickardsson under new regulations governing team strengths.

Cegielski scored more than 300 points for Poole in his first season in British speedway and won a place in this year's world championship Grand Prix series.

His exciting style is likely to make him a favourite with the fans at Eastbourne, where he will link up with Screen, another spectacular track exponent, who will be returning from injury.

Screen, who missed most of last year with a fractured thigh, will captain the team in place of Dugard, who quit the sport at the end of last season.

He will be one of three England internationals in the line-up together with long-serving duo David Norris and Dean Barker, while Eagles are also expected to welcome back Sweden's Stefan Andersson.

The Sussex club had already agreed terms with Ipswich to keep Czech Republic star Toni Svab, but there may not be room for three more of last year's side, Brent Werner, Joonas Kylmakorpi and Roman Povazhny.

Eastbourne plan to open the new season with a farewell meeting for Dugard on March 16. The first league match at Arlington will be on March 23.

The Elite League will be decided for the first time by a series of play-off matches at the end of the season.