The Danes dominate the Individual European Championship in the new formula. So far, Leon Madsen, Mikkel Michelsen and Nicki Pedersen have won a total of four championship titles and 16 rounds of the Speedway Euro Championship series.
In almost every edition of the competition, at least one Dane has reached for a medal. The exception was 2017, when the highest ranked of them was Kenneth Bjerre, who finished on the eighth place.
Already in the first edition of SEC Nicki Pedersen was close to become champion. Before the final round in Rzeszów, the Dane had a five points lead over his rivals, but a great performance of Martin Vaculik meant that he had to settle for silver medal. The 2013 series was also a successful one for Hans Andersen. The 'Ugly Duck' finished fourth and was promoted to the next edition of the competition.
Just a year later speedway fans witnessed a great battle for medals, in which Emil Sayfutdinov, Peter Kildemand and Nicki Pedersen were the main actors. After all, Sayfutdinov grabbed the gold while Kildemand and Pedersen finished second and third respectively. Interestingly, a Dane stood on the podium in each of the SEC 2014 rounds. Nicki Pedersen won the tournaments in Güstrow and Togliatti and took second place in Czestochowa, while Kildemand was second in Güstrow and Holsted and third in Częstochowa.
SEC 2015 was extremely exciting. Emil Sayfutdinov was on the lead, but it should be noted that Pedersen, who stood on the podium of each of the rounds and finally ended the struggle with the silver medal of the Individual European Championship, presented himself extremely well. The Dane won the rounds in Toruń and Ostrów and stood on the podium in Landshut and Kumla.
In 2016, the Danes, who dominated from the beginning of the SEC in the new formula, finally reached for the gold medal of the Individual European Championship. After a crazy end of the series, the winner was Nicki Pedersen, who before the last round in Rybnik, was ninth in the interim classification of the cycle. Eventually, the three-time Individual World Champion stood on the highest step of the podium with two-point advantage over Vaclav Milik and Krzysztof Kasprzak.
Two years later, the Danes were playing leading roles again. This was Leon Madsen's year. Madsen took second place in Güstrow and then won the rounds in Daugavpils and Chorzów (with a maximum of points). He reached for the gold medal of the Individual European Championship with 11 points advantage over Jarosław Hampel, who finished with silver.
In 2019, another medals for Denmark were won by Mikkel Michelsen and Leon Madsen. Michelsen dominated during the second part of the cycle, in which he scored a total of 30 points during the two rounds held in Vojens and Chorzów. It led him to the extra heat for the gold medal, in which he defeated Grigorij Laguta. Incredible thing was done by Madsen. The defending champion appeared in three of the four rounds of competition and still won the SEC 2019 bronze medal.
In 2020, all signs pointed to Madsen becoming champion again. The Dane started the series with three wins in a row, standing on the top step of the podium in Toruń, Bydgoszcz and Rybnik. In the end, Madsen had to give way to Robert Lambert, but he scored another medal of SEC. This time it was silver.
Last year's competition was a showcase for both Madsen and Michelsen. The 2018 champion won the rounds in Bydgoszcz and Rybnik and stood on the second step of the podium in Güstrow and Gdańsk, while Michelsen triumphed in Gdańsk and took second place in Rybnik. With his higher points haul, Michelsen celebrated his second Individual European Championship gold medal.
The Danes stats:
Rounds won: 16
Podiums (summary): 37
Championship titles: 4
Leon Madsen
Podiums: 15
Wins: 8
Mikkel Michelsen
Podiums: 6
Wins: 3
Nicki Pedersen
Podiums: 13
Wins: 5
Peter Kildemand
Podiums: 3
Hans Andersen
Podiums: 1
