Niclas Svensson produced a champion’s performance in Heerenveen in the Netherlands on Saturday night where a perfect six wins from six starts powered him to the 2026 FIM Ice Speedway World Championship title.

  • Niclas Svensson strikes FIM Ice Speedway gold in the Netherlands
  • Title fight goes down to the wire in the Thialf Ice Stadium
  •  Max Koivula snatches silver from brave Luca Bauer

With his compatriot Martin Haarahiltunen unable to compete because of injury, the thirty-five-year-old Swede – who trailed the four-time and defending champion by just two points after the second and penultimate Final of the season in Inzell last month – barely put a wheel wrong as he traded his 2025 silver medal for gold this time around with a dazzling display of controlled aggression.

Haarahiltunen’s premature exit from the 2026 title fight – following surgery on a fractured left tibia sustained in Inzell’s dramatic second Grand Final – meant the leading three riders heading into the season showdown in the Thialf Ice Stadium were separated by just four points with Svensson two ahead of Finland’s Max Koivula who in turn was two clear of Luca Bauer from Germany.

With the final medal positions too close to call, the atmosphere in the packed Dutch stadium was electric and the racing lived up to all expectations with the three championship contenders ensuring the battle for the 2026 crown went down to the wire in the concluding Grand Final of the season.

Fast Finn Heikki Huusko got proceedings under way with a comfortable win in the programme’s opening Heat ahead of Lukáš Hutla from the Czech Republic before Bauer – despite racing with heavy bruising sustained in a practice crash earlier in the day – led home Dutch hero Jasper Iwema. Koivula then opened his account with victory from Austrian veteran Harald Simon and Svensson signalled his intentions with a tapes-to-flag win chased by Germany’s Max Niedermaier.

Huusko, who was lying sixth in the standings at the start of the day, added another win in his second Heat ahead of Bauer and Koivula before Niedermaier raced to victory with Simon – who was competing in his first Final in three years – claiming another second-placed finish. Svensson then won again – this time at the expense of Austria’s Franz ‘Franky’ Zorn – with Dutchman Sebastian Reitsma completing the second block with an incredibly popular victory ahead of Martin Posch.

The two-way tie at the top continued through the third block of Heats with Huusko winning from Iwema and Svensson leading home Bauer as Koivula bounced back into contention with victory over Niedermaier and Simon won a restarted twelfth Heat ahead of Austria’s Posch.

With the format – reworked for 2026 – fast-tracking the top two racers after the Heats straight into the Grand Final with the next four progressing to the Last Chance Heat, with two blocks remaining it was Svensson and Huusko who shared a two-point lead on nine apiece ahead of a four-way tie for third between Koivula, Bauer, Simon and Niedermaier.

The thirteenth Heat of the programme proved to be unlucky for Huusko who suffered defeat at the hands of Niedermaier. Hutla then won from Reitsma and Bauer beat Simon before Svensson resisted a strong early challenge from Koivula to maintain his perfect record.

Heading into the fifth and final block, Svensson made it five-from-five to book his direct passage into the Grand Final along with Huusko who followed him across the line in second ahead of Simon. With his third win of the night, Koivula ensured his place in the LCH alongside Simon and, following a consolation win for Iwema, the pair were joined behind the tapes for the LCH by Bauer and Niedermaier who ran one-two in the programme’s concluding Heat.

Staying true to the formbook, it was Koivula and Bauer who progressed to the Grand Final that was led away by Svensson before Huusko crashed to force a restart. With the Finn excluded, Svensson’s lightning reflexes saw him react the quickest when the tapes went up for the final time and he sealed a sensational season with victory ahead of Koivula and Bauer who took second and third on the night and in the championship.
The action from Heerenveen’s Thialf Ice Stadium continues tomorrow when the sport’s leading countries come together for the 2026 FIM Ice Speedway of Nations with the racing scheduled to get under way with the opening Heat at 14:00 (local time).

Streamed LIVE on FIM-MOTO.TV, a single-event pass is priced at just €9.90. Alternatively, a full season pass – that also includes all three Finals from the 2026 FIM Ice Speedway World Championship – is available for only €15.90. For more details and to subscribe click here.