Denmark national speedway team
Danish national motorcycle speedway team
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The Denmark national speedway team are one of the major teams in international motorcycle speedway.
History
It was not until the emergence of rider Ole Olsen that the Danish speedway team came to prominence. Previously the international scene had been largely dominated by Sweden, Poland and Great Britain.[1] When he was joined in the team by Hans Nielsen, Denmark became a major contender for honours and won the 1978 Speedway World Team Cup in West Germany.[2][3]
The team were the dominant force throughout the 1980s, winning seven World Cups, including a record six world titles in a row, between 1983 and 1988. Other key riders during the period were Erik Gundersen, Tommy Knudsen, Jan O. Pedersen and Finn Thomsen.[4][5]
Further World Cup wins came in 1991, 1995, 1997, 2006, 2008, 2012 and 2014, with Nicki Pedersen and Niels Kristian Iversen each claiming four wins. Denmark have won the Speedway World Cup / Speedway World Team Cup a record 15 times, with Nielsen being a rider on 11 of those occasions.[6] The team were managed by Hans Nielsen from 2016 to 2023.
Additionally, they won the defunct Speedway World Pairs Championship a record eight times.
Major tournament wins
World Team Championships
| Year | Venue | Standings (Pts) | Denmark Riders and Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 |  Landshut |
1.  Denmark (37)2.  England (27)3.  Poland (16)4.  Czechoslovakia (16) |
Hans Nielsen | 11 |
| Ole Olsen | 10 | |||
| Mike Lohmann | 9 | |||
| Finn Thomsen | 7 | |||
| Kristian Praestbro | - | |||
| 1981 | Olching |
1. Denmark (36) 2. England (29)3. West Germany (28)4.  Soviet Union (3) |
Hans Nielsen | 11 |
| Erik Gundersen | 9 | |||
| Tommy Knudsen | 9 | |||
| Ole Olsen | 6 | |||
| Finn Thomsen | 1 | |||
| 1983 | Vojens |
1. Denmark (37) 2. England (29)3.  USA (27)4. Czechoslovakia (3) |
Erik Gundersen | 12 |
| Hans Nielsen | 11 | |||
| Ole Olsen | 7 | |||
| Peter Ravn | 7 | |||
| Finn Thomsen | 0 | |||
| 1984 | Leszno |
1. Denmark (44) 2. England (24)3. USA (20)4. Poland (8) |
Erik Gundersen | 12 |
| Bo Petersen | 12 | |||
| Hans Nielsen | 11 | |||
| Preben Eriksen | 9 | |||
| Peter Ravn | - | |||
| 1985 | Long Beach |
1. Denmark (37) 2. USA (35)3. England (13)4.  Sweden (10) |
Tommy Knudsen | 12 |
| Erik Gundersen | 10 | |||
| Hans Nielsen | 10 | |||
| Preben Eriksen | 5 | |||
| Bo Petersen | 0 | |||
| 1986 | Gothenburg Vojens Odsal |
Best of three events 1. Denmark (9)2. USA (4)3. England (3)4. Sweden (2) |
Hans Nielsen | 35 |
| Erik Gundersen | 33 | |||
| Tommy Knudsen | 33 | |||
| Jan O. Pedersen | 20 | |||
| John Jørgensen | 8 | |||
| 1987 | Fredericia Coventry Prague |
Best of three events 1. Denmark (130)2. England (101)3. USA (93)4. Czechoslovakia (36) |
Hans Nielsen | 38 |
| Erik Gundersen | 33 | |||
| Jan O. Pedersen | 32 | |||
| Tommy Knudsen | 27 | |||
| 1988 | Long Beach |
1. Denmark (44) 2. USA (32)3. Sweden (22)4. England (22) |
Hans Nielsen | 14 |
| Jan O. Pedersen | 12 | |||
| Erik Gundersen | 8 | |||
| Tommy Knudsen | 8 | |||
| John Jørgensen | 2 | |||
| 1991 | Vojens |
1. Denmark (51) 2. Sweden (30)3. USA (28)4. England (11) |
Jan O. Pedersen | 15 |
| Hans Nielsen | 14 | |||
| Tommy Knudsen | 13 | |||
| Gert Handberg | 8 | |||
| Brian Karger | 1 | |||
| 1995 | Bydgoszcz |
1. Denmark (28) 2. England (22)3. USA (19)4. Sweden (19)5.  Australia (14)6. Poland (13)7.  Norway (11) |
Tommy Knudsen | 15+3 |
| Hans Nielsen | 13+2 | |||
| Brian Karger | 0 | |||
| 1997 | Pila |
1. Denmark (27) 2. Poland (25)3. Sweden (21)4. Germany (17)5. Czech Republic (16)6.  Russia (10)7.  Hungary (9) |
Hans Nielsen | 14+3 |
| Tommy Knudsen | 13+2 | |||
| Jesper B. Jensen | - | |||
| 2006 | Reading |
1. Denmark (45) 2.  Great Britain (37)3. Sweden (36)4. Australia (35) |
Nicki Pedersen | 13 |
| Hans Andersen | 12 | |||
| Bjarne Pedersen | 9 | |||
| Charlie Gjedde | 6 | |||
| Niels Kristian Iversen | 5 | |||
| 2008 | Vojens |
1. Denmark (49) 2. Poland (37)3. Sweden (39)4. Australia (21) |
Hans Andersen | 11 |
| Nicki Pedersen | 11 | |||
| Bjarne Pedersen | 11 | |||
| Kenneth Bjerre | 9 | |||
| Niels Kristian Iversen | 7 | |||
| 2012 | Målilla |
1. Denmark (39) 2. Australia (36)3. Russia(30)4. Sweden (24) |
Niels Kristian Iversen | 11 |
| Michael Jepsen Jensen | 11 | |||
| Nicki Pedersen | 9 | |||
| Mikkel B Jensen | 8 | |||
| 2014 | Bydgoszcz |
1. Denmark (38) 2. Poland (36)3. Australia (36)4. Great Britain (16) |
Nicki Pedersen | 17 |
| Niels-Kristian Iversen | 11 | |||
| Peter Kildemand | 7 | |||
| Mads Korneliussen | 3 | |||
World Pairs Championship
| Year | Riders |
|---|---|
| 1979 | Ole Olsen & Hans Nielsen |
| 1985 | Erik Gundersen & Tommy Knudsen |
| 1986 | Hans Nielsen & Erik Gundersen |
| 1987 | Hans Nielsen & Erik Gundersen |
| 1988 | Hans Nielsen & Erik Gundersen |
| 1989 | Hans Nielsen & Erik Gundersen |
| 1990 | Hans Nielsen & Jan O. Pedersen |
| 1991 | Hans Nielsen, Jan O. Pedersen & Tommy Knudsen |
European Pairs Championship
| Year | Riders |
|---|---|
| 2022 | Rasmus Jensen, Michael Jepsen Jensen & Jonas Seifert-Salk |
International caps (as of 2022)
Since the advent of the Speedway Grand Prix era, international caps earned by riders is largely restricted to international competitions, whereas previously test matches between two teams were a regular occurrence. This means that the number of caps earned by a rider has decreased in the modern era.[7]