PEDERSEN NAMES DANISH SQUAD FOR 2024

Speedway GP duo Leon Madsen and Mikkel Michelsen are among the contenders to lead Denmark into the 2024 FIM Speedway of Nations after coach Nicki Pedersen confirmed his provisional squad for next year.

Madsen and Michelsen are both named as senior riders along with 2023 Speedway GP star Anders Thomsen and 2022 Danish champion Rasmus Jensen.

They are joined on the list by Denmark’s “sub-elite team”, which consists of 2021 FIM Speedway Under-21 World Championship runner-up Mads Hansen, Andreas Lyager and former SGP2 rider Benjamin Basso.

Denmark’s junior list features William Drejer, who raced to an unforgettable third place at the Jørgen Hansen Biler FIM SGP2 of Denmark – Vojens last September, despite starting the night as a track reserve and racing just four heats instead of five.

FIM SON2 silver medallist Jesper Knudsen also features on the junior list along with 2023 SGP2 star Nicolai Heiselberg and Bastian Pedersen, Nicki’s nephew and son of his brother Ronni Pedersen, a former SGP reserve.

The list is completed by 2022 SGP3 champion Mikkel Andersen and Villads Nagel, who finished runner-up in that Wroclaw event, as both riders move into the under-21 category and step up their professional careers.

Pedersen must select three riders for the FIM SON in Manchester from July 9-13 – two starters and one reserve rider.

But despite naming this provisional squad, there is nothing to stop Denmark’s rider-manager from adding other names as the season progresses, with final FIM SON squads not due to be submitted until June.