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. 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.
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.
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. 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 Pts1978Landshut 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 -1981Olching 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 11983Vojens 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 01984Leszno 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 -1985Long 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 01986GothenburgVojensOdsalBest of three events1. 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 81987FredericiaCoventryPragueBest of three events1. Denmark (130)2. England (101)3. USA (93)4. Czechoslovakia (36) Hans Nielsen 38 Erik Gundersen 33 Jan O. Pedersen 32 Tommy Knudsen 271988Long Beach1. 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 21991Vojens1. 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 11995Bydgoszcz 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 01997Pila 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 9Niels 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 YearRiders1979 Ole Olsen & Hans Nielsen1985 Erik Gundersen & Tommy Knudsen1986 Hans Nielsen & Erik Gundersen1987 Hans Nielsen & Erik Gundersen1988 Hans Nielsen & Erik Gundersen1989 Hans Nielsen & Erik Gundersen1990 Hans Nielsen & Jan O. Pedersen1991 Hans Nielsen, Jan O. Pedersen & Tommy Knudsen
European Pairs Championship YearRiders2022 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. RiderCapsAndersen, Brian12Andersen, Hans22Andersen, Jan1Andersen, Morten1Andreasen, Godtfred2Bech, Mikkel2Berlin, Leif4Berthelsen, Kiehn13Bjerre, Kenneth17Bøgh, KurtBusk, Alf8Clausen, Hans8Ellegaard, Knud1Eriksen, Preben41Eskildsen, John11Gjedde, Charlie11Glanz, Peter3Gundersen, Erik91Handberg, Gert20Hansen, Kurt1Henningsen, Jan Rene2Hougaard, Patrick1Iversen, Niels Kristian24Jacobsen, Claus3Jensen, Bengt Norregaard5Jensen, Finn Rune9Jensen, Michael Jepsen3Johansen, Allan5Jørgensen, John54Juul, Richard1Karger, Brian30Kjaer, Jens Erik Krause1Klindt, Nicolai5Knudsen, Tommy81Korneliussen, Mads2Lohmann, Mike17Madsen, Leon2Madsen, Tom P.1Monberg, Jesper B. 7Munkedal, Lars4Nielsen, Hans118Nielsen, Jens Henry3Nikolajsen, Sam7Noer, Kent4Olsen, Jacob4Olsen, Ole50Pander, Arne16Pedersen, Bjarne29Pedersen, Flemming3Pedersen, Jan Henrik3Pedersen, Jan O.42Pedersen, Nicki30Pedersen, Ronni6Petersen, Bo59Petersen, Kurt W.5Præstbro, Kristian6Rasmussen, Bent3Rasmussen, Jens17Ravn, Peter42Risager, Morten1Rosenkilde, Preben1Sørensen, Per3Stæchmann, Jan13Thomsen, Finn30Vinther, Martin1Weiss, Neils2
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