MADSEN: DANES CAN GRAB SON GOLD

Danish racer Leon Madsen insists his country can claim Monster Energy FIM Speedway of Nations gold in Manchester “on a perfect day”, but admitted “there are three or four nations who can win it.”

The Danes booked their place at the National Speedway Stadium by finishing third at Semi-Final 1 in Daugavpils last Friday, beating the USA in the Final Qualifier to advance.

They now take on hosts Great Britain, Poland, Sweden, Australia, Latvia and France on October 16 and 17.

Madsen raced to 12 points for his country in Latvia, while European champion Mikkel Michelsen led the charge on 18 and under-21 racer Mads Hansen contributed two.

The Danes will be among the favourites to win the world title in Manchester, but Madsen knows it will be no easy task in possibly the most open Final in the competition’s short history. He said: “On a perfect day, we can win. But there are maybe three or four teams who can do the same.

“It’s down to the riders who hit form and have some luck on the day. We are going to try and make sure that we have that luck, but it’s a tough meeting.

“If you look at our team, we have a good team. Mikkel has been doing very well lately. If we can both hit our top level on the day, we can win it.

“I want us to go to Manchester to try and win it – not just aim for a medal. Then we will see what happens. If we don’t win and we get a medal – silver or bronze – that will still be a good achievement for Denmark.

“But we won bronze last year, so we would like to take it a step further and make it gold. We will do our best, but it is going to be a tough meeting; that’s for sure.”

Madsen did not enjoy the easiest of nights in Daugavpils, recording a win, two seconds, a third and two last places.

“We got the job done, but it wasn’t easy,” he said. “There was a lack of points from my side, but in the end we did the job and qualified to Manchester, and I am very happy about that.”

The rider admits he has been feeling the after-effects of a bout of flu in recent weeks. But he hopes this will all be behind him when he reaches the National Speedway Stadium.

“Manchester is going to be a completely different meeting,” he said. “Hopefully I will have gained a lot of my strength and some of my fitness back.

“I have a few weeks to put in the hard work and get to Manchester in the best possible shape and do my best for Denmark. Hopefully we can get some medals – and hopefully the fun ones!”