It’s about time to determine the riders, who will fight for the title of the European champion. An exciting SEC Challenge with very interesting names on its starting list is coming up this weekend in Pardubice. Who will fight his way up to the prestigious SEC lineup this year?
One of the front runners in Pardubice will for sure be Patryk Dudek. The vice-champion of the world from 2017 is not going to participate in the Grand Prix series this year but hopes to qualify for SEC 2021. Who knows? Perhaps this will be his path back to Grand Prix next year. But first, the rider from Falubaz Zielona Góra has to proof his abilities in the SEC Challenge and face the expectations of those, who already designated him as a favourite.
The same year in which Dudek reached for the silver medal at Grand Prix, Andrej Lebiediev became European Champion. He is the next great name on the starting list in Pardubice. Worth mentioning are also such interesting riders as Dan Bewley from Great Britain, Wadim Tarasenko from Russia or Timo Lahti from Finland, who stood on the podium during the 5th SEC-Round in Toruń last year.
This is only the beginning of the colorful lineup during the deciding tournament, which determins the promotion to the Speedway Euro Championship this year. There are representatives from Italy, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Poland, Denmark, Russia, Ukraine, Finland, Sweden and Great Britain. It’s going to be very diverse and interesting. The local fans for sure will keep their fingers crossed for the Czech Josef Franc, who has experience in international competitions.
Remember, that the winners of the SEC Challenge will face excellent rivals in the final SEC lineup. Robert Lambert, Leon Madsen, Mikkel Michelsen, Bartosz Smektała and Nicki Pedersen already secured their place in this season’s SEC-series. The first on the list is to defend the champion title and the last will replace the Russian Grigorij Laguta.
The first five riders from Pardubice will receive the promotion to SEC 2021. The last element of the lineup setting are the wild cards. They will be granted on the basis of the rider’s performance on the legendary czech track but also the overall condition of the riders in their respective everyday leagues. Every point and performance counts. Everyone has to show ambition and determination.
The final rounds of Speedway Euro Championship 2021 are planned in two countries and the following cities: Bydgoszcz (12.06.), Güstrow (26.06.), Gdańsk (03.07.) and Rybnik (10.07.)
Lineup SEC Challenge 2021:
1. Timo Lahti (Finland)
2. Nicolas Covatti (Italy)
3. Vadim Tarasenko (Russia)
4. Andzejs Lebedevs (Latvia)
5. Oleksandr Loktaev (Ukraine)
6. Patrick Hansen (Denmark)
7. Sergei Logachev (Russia)
8. Jakub Jamróg (Poland)
9. Matić Ivacić (Slovenia)
10. David Bellego (France)
11. Erik Riss (Germany)
12. Jacob Thorssell (Sweden)
13. Josef Franc (Czech Republic)
14. Dan Bewley (Great Britain)
15. Pontus Aspgren (Sweden)
16. Patryk Dudek (Poland)
17. Eduard Krcmar (Czech Republic)
18. Hynek Stichauer (Czech Republic)
