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Tommy Knudsen


steve roberts

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I would very much like to read an interview with Coventry stalwart Tommy Knudsen...especially his view regarding the clash with Hans Nielsen during the 1986 World Final.

Any chance Tony?

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Won almost everything in the sport.  11 world titles ? But never the big one . 

Kicked myself that I missed him a few years back. Heard afterwards he was at a junior meeting I attended. Only a few hundred people there as well

Edited by iris123
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1 hour ago, iris123 said:

Won almost everything in the sport.  11 world titles ? But never the big one . 

Kicked myself that I missed him a few years back. Heard afterwards he was at a junior meeting I attended. Only a few hundred people there as well

HIS performance in the 1985 World Team Cup Final at Long Beach (USA) was stunning. TK rates it his best and LB his favourite track. Also very of the very nicest guys you could wish to meet and today doesn't look a day older than he did 24 years ago.

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Got back into the sport when TK was regarded as one of the best...

Reputation from some fans as I came back was as a typical 'Danish gater' and nothing more..

Glad I saw him ride...

He was so much more than that...

Watched him ride the Kirky Lane track the first time Cov visited and he was exceptional...

Many riders had struggled to get round it the first few times they rode it..

He didn't...

 

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I actually rated him above Gundersen and Nielsen in the very early 80s. Beyond the obvious 81 World Final performance, he outscored those giants in Test matches too around that time. On my first visit to Brandon in 82, we cheered the Aces onto a crucial 40-38 win (happiness is...!) despite a maximum from TK. Mort and PC were in determined mood, but could not get near a faultless Tommy Knudsen that night.

But I think he picked up a bad back injury in Australia one winter (?) and that just seemed to check his progress as Gundersen and Nielsen moved onto the next level.

It's also curious that Ole Olsen ended up firmly in the Gundersen camp, rather than Knudsen whom had been a long-time team-mate and - you would have thought - a more obvious fit. Maybe it's just that Erik showed the greater ambition to seek help? That also might have been a factor in Gundersen reaching the top and Tommy not quite. I'd also like his take on the 86 World Final and the clash with Nielsen. 

Definitely an interview I'd like to read :-)  

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7 hours ago, falcace said:

I actually rated him above Gundersen and Nielsen in the very early 80s. Beyond the obvious 81 World Final performance, he outscored those giants in Test matches too around that time. On my first visit to Brandon in 82, we cheered the Aces onto a crucial 40-38 win (happiness is...!) despite a maximum from TK. Mort and PC were in determined mood, but could not get near a faultless Tommy Knudsen that night.

But I think he picked up a bad back injury in Australia one winter (?) and that just seemed to check his progress as Gundersen and Nielsen moved onto the next level.

It's also curious that Ole Olsen ended up firmly in the Gundersen camp, rather than Knudsen whom had been a long-time team-mate and - you would have thought - a more obvious fit. Maybe it's just that Erik showed the greater ambition to seek help? That also might have been a factor in Gundersen reaching the top and Tommy not quite. I'd also like his take on the 86 World Final and the clash with Nielsen. 

Definitely an interview I'd like to read :-)  

I recall an interview with Olsen some years ago in "Backtrack" and Knudesn didn't make great strides to ask for Ole's advice and guidance after he retired hence one reason he picked up with Gundersen.

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On 9/19/2019 at 11:38 AM, falcace said:

I actually rated him above Gundersen and Nielsen in the very early 80s. Beyond the obvious 81 World Final performance, he outscored those giants in Test matches too around that time. On my first visit to Brandon in 82, we cheered the Aces onto a crucial 40-38 win (happiness is...!) despite a maximum from TK. Mort and PC were in determined mood, but could not get near a faultless Tommy Knudsen that night.

But I think he picked up a bad back injury in Australia one winter (?) and that just seemed to check his progress as Gundersen and Nielsen moved onto the next level.

It's also curious that Ole Olsen ended up firmly in the Gundersen camp, rather than Knudsen whom had been a long-time team-mate and - you would have thought - a more obvious fit. Maybe it's just that Erik showed the greater ambition to seek help? That also might have been a factor in Gundersen reaching the top and Tommy not quite. I'd also like his take on the 86 World Final and the clash with Nielsen. 

Definitely an interview I'd like to read :-)  

The back injury was just prior to the 89 season I think whilst racing in Australia.  Think he was lucky not to end up in a wheelchair.  The Bees had to shuffle late on just before tapes up with Kai Niemi coming in.  I think he officially retired after that injury but then made a come back towards the end of 1990?

IIRC there was some animosity between him & Ole over TK racing/not racing with a broken arm in a Danish test match.  Ole wanted him too, TK was reluctant but did only to pull out halfway through his first ride.

I watched him from his first steps as a second half rider at 16 all the way through to the end of his Bees career.  For me he was Mr Coventry Bee.

so many great memories, beating Ivan Maurer in a tight match, Ivan being a tactical in the #2 & 7 race, Tommy being a raw #7.

was a world class ride who had no luck in big meetings & always seemed to pick up niggly injuries when flying that always set him back that little bit.

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Tommy was such a good rider remember seeing him aged 16 and thinking he can go places.Very unlucky with injuries and 1986 was a world title year that got away when really it was a 50/50 incident.Was filling out a few programmes out the other night and had forgot just how good Tommy was around the Shay Halifax beating Carter a few times which was no mean feat.

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47 minutes ago, Sidney the robin said:

Tommy was such a good rider remember seeing him aged 16 and thinking he can go places.Very unlucky with injuries and 1986 was a world title year that got away when really it was a 50/50 incident.Was filling out a few programmes out the other night and had forgot just how good Tommy was around the Shay Halifax beating Carter a few times which was no mean feat.

Do you remember the occasion Sid when Tommy pulled a celebratory wheelie at Swindon and fell off the back of his machine and got up and bowed to the crowd?

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42 minutes ago, steve roberts said:

Do you remember the occasion Sid when Tommy pulled a celebratory wheelie at Swindon and fell off the back of his machine and got up and bowed to the crowd?

Yes now you  have reminded me  Steve if i remember rightly it looked really nasty.I remember Swindon riding Coventry in a double header i think a league and Midland cup fixture 1979/.???

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Just now, Sidney the robin said:

Yes now you  have reminded me  Steve if i remember rightly it looked really nasty.I remember Swindon riding Coventry in a double header i think a league and Midland cup fixture 1979/.???

The clip used to appear on the beginning credits of "Screensport"...taken from 1987 if I remember?

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7 minutes ago, steve roberts said:

The clip used to appear on the beginning credits of "Screensport"...taken from 1987 if I remember?

God how time goes  so quickly, one stat that really surprised me and showed  just how  good Tommy was .His  longevity record in speedway was impressive and  he had  to wait until 1997 to win his first Danish championship.

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There was no better exponent pulling wheelies than Hans Nielsen (I recall that he fell off once however!) however Erik Gundersen confessed that he wasn't very good at them...Bobby Schwartz was another who admitted that it was beyond him.

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11 hours ago, steve roberts said:

Do you remember the occasion Sid when Tommy pulled a celebratory wheelie at Swindon and fell off the back of his machine and got up and bowed to the crowd?

If I remember rightly, he pulled the wheelie crossing the finish line, in the lead, at the end off the race and fell just beyond the line.

But we remember his time at Coventry for a lot more than that. A true professional and ambassador for the sport.

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16 minutes ago, False dawn said:

If I remember rightly, he pulled the wheelie crossing the finish line, in the lead, at the end off the race and fell just beyond the line.

But we remember his time at Coventry for a lot more than that. A true professional and ambassador for the sport.

...and a gentleman.

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