Speedway of Nations 2022: Hans Nielsen aiming to 'get that gold' in final act as Denmark team manager

Outgoing team manager Hans Nielsen believes his Denmark team "can do the job" and claim the Speedway of Nations title.

Nielsen, who has confirmed this will be his last meeting with the team, has selected Leon Madsen, Mikkel Michelsen and Anders Thomsen for the final at the Vojens Speedway Centre for a chance at a first ever gold at the event and a first team world title since the old Speedway World Cup in 2015.

As hosts, Denmark automatically advance to the final where they will take on Australia, Finland and Poland who advanced from the first semi-final, and Sweden, Czech Republic and Great Britain who made it through semi number two.

With the team of Madsen, Michelsen and Thomsen all currently competing in Speedway Grand Prix, Nielsen believes the trio have enough experience to ultimately come out on top in the final, and thinks home advantage could play it’s part in Vojens.

Speaking to the media in the week leading up to the event, he said: “I am pretty sure these are the guys who have done well and the guys who we believe can do the job on Saturday night and get that gold for Denmark.

“They also happen to be our three GP riders and obviously that counts for a lot. They are doing well in the GP. They have the experience and also Leon and Mikkel raced for us at last year’s Final in Manchester, winning the bronze.

“We have Anders in there too and the system has changed from last year. We previously had to have an under-21 rider as a reserve. Now we have Anders as a reserve. It’s a key part of the team and we can put Anders in whenever we want. We can even start the night with him if we want.”

He added: “I think it’s going to be quite exciting. We stand just as good a chance as anyone else. As a matter of fact, I think we have a little jump ahead with the event in Denmark, so we have a little bit of home advantage, the crowd behind us and the people supporting us on Saturday.”

Nielsen will be hoping to will gold in his final act as Denmark boss having also announced that he will be stepping down from his role after the event.

Victory will see him win a national title for the first time as coach, adding to four world individual titles, 11 FIM World Team Cups and seven FIM World Pairs Championships he won as a rider.

Regardless of the result in the final, Nielsen says he takes great pride in a successful career both on and off the track, and also feels he leaves Speedway in his country in a good place.

“My life has always revolved around speedway,” he said on Thursday. “And I can be proud of a really great career both as a rider with 22 world titles and over six years as a national coach.

“But I also feel that the time has come to turn down the throttle, so to speak, and put aside the role of national coach, while the passion for the sport is still there.

“I am very comfortable about stopping now because for the past six years we have worked hard and made Denmark a leading nation in speedway.

“The future prospects for Denmark's speedway elite are also very bright with three Grand Prix riders currently doing well, and then we have a number of talents who will make their mark at the top level within the next few years.”

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Stream the 2022 Speedway of Nations live and ad-free on discovery+ with live race action also on Eurosport 2.