Stefan Nielsen (speedway rider)

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Stefan Nielsen
Born (1994-10-31) 31 October 1994 (age 30)
Esbjerg, Denmark
NationalityBritish/Danish
Career history
2011Scunthorpe/Sheffield Saints
2012, 2015Ipswich Witches
2012Mildenhall Fen Tigers
2013Somerset Rebels
2014–2015Belle Vue Aces
2014Coventry Storm
2016Plymouth Devils
2016, 2019Swindon Robins
2017–2019Scunthorpe Scorpions
2018, 2021Poole Pirates
2021-2022Sheffield Tigers
2022-2023Birmingham Brummies
Individual honours
2012, 2013British Under-19 Championship Bronze Helmet
Team honours
2011, 2012National League
2012National Trophy
2012National League Knockout Cup
2012Four-Team Championship

Stefan Leeder Nielsen (born 31 October 1994) is a British speedway rider.[1][2]

Career

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Nielsen has a British mother and Danish father, and was born in Esbjerg, Denmark.[3][4] He first rode speedway at the age of four and a half in Denmark and went on to ride for Grindsted in the 80cc class. In 2010, he rode for Outrup in the Danish second division.

He began his career in British speedway in 2011 with the Scunthorpe/Sheffield National League team, after attending a training school run by David Howe at Scunthorpe, winning the league championship with them that season.[3] In 2012 he signed for Mildenhall Fen Tigers, and was part of the team that won the National League championship, National League Trophy, Knockout Cup, and Four-team Championship.[5] Also that year he won the British Under-19 Championship, a title that he retained in 2013, only the second rider to achieve that feat.[6][7] He also rode in fourteen matches for Premier League Ipswich Witches. In 2013 he stayed with the Fen Tigers and rode in the Premier League with Somerset Rebels, averaging close to five points but losing his place towards the end of the season.[5][8] In 2014 he signed for Coventry Storm in the National League, whilst in the draft for Elite League reserves for 2014, Nielsen was picked by Belle Vue Aces.[9][10]

In 2015 he finished 12th in the 2015 Speedway Under-21 World Championship. In 2016, he rode for the Plymouth Devils and then spent three seasons at the Scunthorpe Scorpions before signing for the Poole Pirates for the 2020 and 2021 seasons.[1]

In 2022, he rode for the Sheffield Tigers in the SGB Premiership 2022 and for the Birmingham Brummies in the SGB Championship 2022.[11] In 2023, he re-signed for Birmingham for the SGB Championship 2023, in doing so he also became a club asset after they purchased his contract from Swindon.[12]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Stefan Nielsen". WWOS backup. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  2. ^ "ULTIMATE RIDER INDEX, 1929-2022" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
  3. ^ a b "Rider Index", speedwaygb.co. Retrieved 8 December 2013
  4. ^ "Stefan Nielsen", somersetrebels.co. Retrieved 8 December 2013
  5. ^ a b "Stefan Nielsen completes Somerset Rebels line-up for 2013 speedway season", thisissomerset.co.uk, 15 December 2012. Retrieved 8 December 2013
  6. ^ "Speedway: Stefan Nielsen retains the British U19 Championship", Sky Sports, 23 September 2013. Retrieved 8 December 2013
  7. ^ Rowe, David (2013) "Stefan Nielsen turns on the style at Brandon", Coventry Telegraph, 23 September 2013. Retrieved 8 December 2013
  8. ^ Crane, David (2013) "Stefan Nielsen ready for Speedway British Under-19 title defence Archived 10 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine", Cambridge News, 20 September 2013
  9. ^ "Speedway: Tigers trio drafted into Elite League sides", Newmarket Journal, 3 December 2013. Retrieved 8 December 2013
  10. ^ "Ace Nielsen prepares for a move to the Elite League", Newmarket Journal, 6 December 2013. Retrieved 8 December 2013
  11. ^ "British Speedway rider profile". British Speedway. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
  12. ^ "Brummies in Stefan Heaven". British Speedway. Retrieved 1 December 2022.