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Last Updated: Nov 28th, 2010 - 10:22:29 |
It proved to be an afternoon when Denmark’s young guns came of age in their search for the next Nicki Pedersen, Kenneth Bjerre and Hans Andersen.
The three Grand Prix stars – and Bjerre was a personal witness at Hoddesdon – would have been proud of the all-round team effort their younger compatriots showed in easing home to their first World Cup success after securing runner-up spots in the previous two competitions.
Newcastle Diamond Rene Bach was the Danes’ star man with an emphatic 15 point maximum, and is surely on course for even greater things. He received excellent support from 17 year old Michael Jepsen Jensen – who will have caught more than a few British promoters’ eyes with this showing – and Belle Vue Ace Patrick Hougaard, while Peter Kildemand returned from a hand injury to contribute 8 and Lasse Bjerre – the youngest competitor in the field at just 16 – chipped in with points in four of his five outings.
As a jubilant Team Manager Jan Staechmann said afterwards, “The Poles have had a monopoly on the U-21s, but we had a good team spirit and all the boys dug deep to score their points. What makes me so pleased is that these guys are the future of Danish Speedway. These are the guys who are going to take over as the senior squad one day, and they worked together so well as a team. They are a great bunch of lads, with a very good camaraderie, which is so encouraging.”
Sweden briefly threatened the Danes’ domination before having to settle for the Silver position. European U-19 Champion Dennis Andersson was the pick of their bunch with two race wins and 11 points and, like Jensen, will surely now come under British promoters’ scrutiny. It proved a mixed day, however, for Silver Ski Rockets’ No.1 Linus Sundstrom, who rebounded from an early tapes exclusion to blast a couple of race wins before being limited to third places in his two remaining rides.
Defending champions Poland had to settle for third place after winning gold in all five previous stagings of this competition. Coventry’s Przemyslaw Pawlicki was in excellent form, with 14 points, with his key support coming from recent Swindon signing Maciej Janowski. The Poles could have conceivably grabbed second spot but for four falls and a couple of starting exclusions, with referee Marek Wojacek clearly determined to hold the tapes until all riders were fully stationery.
The biggest day in Rye House’s history also proved to be a long one for the host nation, whose hopes of success received a heavy blow before a wheel had even turned when their lack of depth was cruelly exposed as No.1 Tai Woffinden was ruled out with concussion. The Grand Prix star’s withdrawal from involvement left Great Britain needing a powerful start to create any sort of traction, but as things transpired it took four races for them to get on the score-chart, a situation which left them always looking unlikely chasers for Bronze. Both Woffinden’s direct replacement Kyle Newman and Silver Ski Rocket Kyle Hughes were unable to trouble the scorers, and it was left to Lewis Bridger to carry the team with a superb three race wins. Elsewhere, Josh Auty tigered away for his 7 points and a Heat 21 success for Joe Haines helped the British U-21 Champion to an identical score.
Denmark (51): Rene Bach 15, Michael Jepsen Jensen 12, Patrick Hougaard 11, Peter Kildemand 8, Lasse Bjerre 5
Sweden (37): Dennis Andersson 11, Linus Sundstrom 8, Simon Gustafsson 7, Ludvig Lindgren 7, Kim Nilsson 4
Poland (35): Przemyslaw Pawlicki 14, Maciej Janowski 10, Artur Mroczka 8, Szymon Wojniak 2, Patryk Dudek 1
Great Britain (25): Lewis Bridger 11, Josh Auty 7, Joe Haines 7, Kyle Hughes 0, Kyle Newman 0
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