BWitcher

Sam is my all time favorite rider, however, he is known to have a grudge against Nicki Pedersen. I have also seen Sam shut the door in emphatic fashion many, many times.

You leave room when a rider is alongside you. If they're buzzing around behind you, you ride your line and try to block if you can. Which is what Nicki did. I've seen Hancock, Sayfutidnov, Crump, Gollob and all the other riders do the same move of the final bend. Of course he did, as is his right as he was clearly in front.

What do you mean 'leave room'. If a rider is alongside you, leave him room. AJ was not ever alongside Pedersen.

If riding the normal line is 'filthy' then all the riders are filthy. Nicki was leading the race, AJ never even got alongside him and tried to go for a gap that was never, ever going to be there. I don't like Nicki and reacted with a shout when the incident first happened, but upon reflection he did absolutely nothing wrong. He also did what every other rider in the series would have done in that position. At the time of AJ going down, they weren't even out to the fence, AJ miscalculated. Simple as.

Really.. Seem to remember something different happen in 1987 when Ermolenko picked off Morton at Hyde Road as Wolves won 40-38. Totally agree. For those talking about Correy being a gating tart.. Sure, most of his races were won from the gate, however he broke the track record at Monmore in 1990 when he was 4th entering turn 3. Passing Shawn Moran, Bobby Ott and Richard Knight in the process.

Sam in the studio got this one right.

Remember him well, was quite handy round Dudley Wood as I remember, as 21CH says, especially in the junior league. Remember him picking up some scalps in the 1st team too.

Have you ever met KKS? You'd get on just great.

He had to be 6pts behind to do that.

I've always bought mine on the day of the meeting.. Its not like you're trying to get Olympics tickets... Chill people!

I agree with a lot of what you are saying Steve. However the reason I can't place Gollob with the real greats of the sport is simple. The real greats of the sport could be brilliant on any track shape, size or condition. Gollob is brilliant at most and above average at some. There-in lies the difference.

The racing was good tonight, but don't think it was the best televised meeting ever. There have been some previous World cup finals and especially race-offs that were better. The Race-off at Poole springs to mind. What is clear, is that team racing is so much more thrilling than Individual.

I didn't see Mauger ride in his heyday.. but from what I am told he could be immaculate at any shaped track, size or condition. There's a difference.

A true 'great' wouldn't struggle. That is my point. Gollob is brilliant on the tracks that suit him, I am not denying that. A top class rider, but not one of the best ever.

Among the best riders since the late 60's? Gollob is great on tracks that suit him, big fast tracks. It has taken him YEARS to learn to ride Cardiff. Put him on Lakeside, Monmore Green and he is an average rider. He is also been known to dissapear when track conditions are not 'ideal'. The true greats down the years could ride tracks of all shapes and sizes and still dominate. I'm not saying he is a bad rider, far from it. But he is far from being an all time great.

When the racing is generally pretty close all meeting long.. then suddenly, previously ineffective riders are winning races by 50-60 yards against WORLD CLASS riders, all grouped tightly behind them, something is amiss. Within the rules, or not within the rules, we will never know as it is not, despite what some say here, properly investigated. The sport has too much lose for that. Unfortunately speedway is becoming ever more like Formula One where on the big tracks its a case of fastest bike wins more often than not. It makes me laugh when people rave about what a talented rider Gollob is, comparing him to some of the best of all time. He is nowhere near some of the great riders of the past. What he does have are the fastest bikes. We will never know, the pressure would have been completely different.

Thats because the World Cup is a TEAM event and it always generates more excitement than an individual one.

Heat 22 where they lost it, Batchelor should have slowed and let Kolodzej beat him. They could then have used Crump to replace Watt in heat 23.

Poland and Nicki Pedersen win the World Cup. Nice little earner for Nicki, not going to upset his home crowd and club is he?

Because the referee had declared the result. Would it have been changed in any other country?

Too late Australia. Batchelor blew it.

Such is the stupidness of the competition that Batchelor winning has likely just won the World Cup for Poland. Now the Aussies have to leave Watt in the next. Whereas it could have been Crump on a joker instead.. then Holder, then Crump.

BATCHELOR NEEDS 2nd!!! Let the pole by!

Stuff this. TOTALLY CORRUPT Once the result is declared, that should be it.

Well done ref! No changing your mind now