He's one of the most titled riders in the history. Both individual and in the team racing, he's reached nearly everything that a speedway rider can achieve. He was the only one to finish each of three SEC edition at the podium. He's missing only one thing, though, and it's the European Champion title. Will Nicki Pedersen go for it in this year?
From the beginning of holding the European Championship in a cycle of few rounds, Dane has been one of the top stars and "faces" of this rivalry. Without him, SEC would not be the same. Loved and hated by fans, popular "Power" brings an uncountable value to every meeting he's starting in.
Through every edition of Speedway Euro Championship, Pedersen has been fighting for gold till the very end. Each time, though, someone was grabbing this title in the last while. He was closest to it in 2013, when with a few-point lead, he was starting in the last round of this rivalry. Plus, it was the meeting in Rzeszów - the track that was his home at that time, so it looked like he was havint it all. Although, everything went completely in the opposite way. He had some troubles on the surface that usually had no secrets for him. Moreover, Martin Vaculik had a fabolous night and won with the maximum. It was him, who took this triumph away from Pedersen.
In this season, "Power" has been struggling hard too. In the league matches, he's not always a team's leader and his FOGO Unia Leszno has been disappointing so far. Dane was also losing some points in the Speedway Best Pairs that made his Trans MF Pro Race Team finish the cycle below the expectations. Also in Grand Prix, he's been having the worst results of many years. He's been blaming his bikes, which are often away from the requested speed.
However, speedway fans know perfectly Nicki's ambitions. Not so long time ago, he said that noone expects more from him than himself. It's the best description of his metal strenght and attitude. Despite his age (39 y.o.) and a huge pack of achievements, he's still hungry for successes just like his 20-year younger rivals. He still can get it anytime, anywhere and then, he'll be immidiately back into the position of world's top. He's been numerously going back after losses and proving that still you have to be aware of him. The day Nicki Pedersen will let the fight for the top aims go will be the last of his sport career.
