PIRATES reserve Stefan Nielsen hopes he can put near-misses behind him by reaching the British final.

The 23-year-old has never ridden in the showpiece event but tackles the first semi at Sheffield tomorrow.

Nielsen was given a wild card for the final in 2014 but his chances were dashed by injury.

And last year, the Denmark-born racer scored seven points from his opening three rides in the semi at Sheffield, only to fall short.

He told the Daily Echo: “It’s quite a big one for me.

“The one time I did get a spot, I managed to get injured so didn’t actually ride, and last year was another frustrating one where I was so close yet so far.

“It’s a meeting I look fondly on and I really want to get into the final.

“I was at Sheffield a couple of weeks ago with Scunthorpe and got eight points from four rides. I like the track. It’s big and fast and it suits me.”

Nielsen has to finish in the top eight to progress to the final at Belle Vue on Monday, June 11.

Sheffield draw: 1 Charles Wright, 2 Robert Lambert, 3 Rory Schlein, 4 Max Clegg, 5 Danny Ayres, 6 Craig Cook, 7 Jason Garrity, 8 Stefan Nielsen, 9 Carl Wilkinson, 10 Zach Wajtknecht, 11 Nathan Greaves, 12 Adam Roynon, 13 Kyle Howarth, 14 Dan Bewley, 15 Edward Kennett, 16 Josh Auty.