It’s been a breakthrough season for Danish talent Nicolai Skovbjerg in the EMX250 championship, and his hard work was rewarded with a superb podium at the KymiRing in Finland – his first in the highly competitive series. Despite operating from a privateer setup with strong family support, Skovbjerg has been quietly making strides in his development, and his ride in Finland underlined just how far he’s come.
We caught up with Skovbjerg to reflect on that milestone result, what’s been clicking for him this season, life as a privateer, and what the future might hold as he looks to build on his momentum.
GateDrop: Let’s start with Finland — your first podium in the EMX250 series! How did it feel standing on the box?
Skovbjerg: It’s amazing, it really is. This was on the top of the list for my goals for the season.
GateDrop: Did you go into the weekend believing a podium was realistic or did it come as a bit of a surprise?
Skovbjerg: I knew a podium was possible. But the competition this year is super tough so I wasn’t really expecting to stand on the box at the end of the weekend. Every weekend I aim to end on the box because I really believe my speed is there for podiums.
GateDrop: What clicked for you at the KymiRing? Was it the track, the bike setup, or just confidence?
Skovbjerg: I think a little bit of everything really, I enjoyed the track a lot and then we made some small adjustments for timed practice and that really helped a lot.
GateDrop: It was a brand new track at the KymiRing, what was your thoughts on it and the facility? The track looked super rough and tough to ride…
Skovbjerg: They’ve done a really good job in general, the track layout was really good, maybe some more passing spots wouldn’t hurt. But other than that it was a nice place.
GateDrop: Can you talk us through your motos — how did each race play out from your perspective?
Skovbjerg: Well, the starts were terrible. I started around the top 20 both motos but had great opening laps. After that my speed was really good which allowed me to move up the leaderboard.
GateDrop: You’ve improved a lot this season — what would you put that down too – did you change much over the winter or was it much of the same as previous years?
Skovbjerg: Pretty much everything was the same, I’ve done some hours more on hard pack tracks and some more physical training.
GateDrop: Tell us about your program — who do you work with during the week and what’s your training setup like? It seems to be a small group of people with Mum and Dad very much involved…
Skovbjerg: Well, it’s a really small group of people. My Mum and Dad are really working hard to get everything running. Balancing a regular job and still preparing the bikes, getting everything ready and still driving to all the races is challenging. Don’t get me wrong I have great support from my team (Wozniak Mx Racing Team, Yamaha and KMS who are doing all the tuning and suspension) but it’s pretty much a privateer setup. And of course I’m still working with Emil Larsen which I’m super happy with!
GateDrop: Lommel next I believe as you’ll race MX2 there… that should be good as you love that place!
Skovbjerg: Lommel is great, it’s super rough and tough on the body. I love this place and that’s also why we have chosen to do an MX2 GP there.
GateDrop: Have there been any riders you’ve looked up to or learned from in the paddock?
Skovbjerg: There are always some, but no one specifically. But the ones I look up to are definitely the ones with the feet on the ground, the ones you can actually say hi to and someone you can actually have a nice clean battle with.
GateDrop: Now that you’ve hit the podium, does that change your goals for the rest of the season?
Skovbjerg: Not really, I would really like to hit the podium one more time before the end of the season. But other than that the goal is still the same, to be around the top five consistently.
GateDrop: Is the plan to stay in EMX250 next year or are you already eyeing up MX2 in the future?
Skovbjerg: To be honest I’m not really sure yet. The goal is to find a decent team and a place to live over the winter, I really believe I can improve a whole lot if I don’t have to think about prepping my training bike for the day after and could use that time to train. So, it really depends on what offers I have. I am ready for both!
