This weekend is the last one on the international calendar for 2019 and will see both U21 and the senior World Champion crowned in the Czech Republic and Poland respectively.
The U21 Final, Pardubice, Friday 4 October
Two Polish riders, Dominik Kubera and Maksym Drabik, lead the competition separated by just one point and are ahead of last year's champion, fellow Pole, Bartosz Smektala.
Barring a disaster, it will be a two way fight for Gold as Kubera (Lesnzo/ Vetlanda) goes head-to-head with Drabik (Wroclaw/ Lejonen). Overall, Drabik has had the better season than his younger rival with a better Heat Average, over 2.1, in both Poland and Sweden as well as having the opportunity to be a wildcard in the SEC at Torun on Saturday.
But it is Kubera who is in the lead in the competition and he has the advantage of knowing that he will still be eligible to compete in the U21 category next year.
Smektala (Leszno/ Västervik) is unlikely to retain his Gold medal but is also in a winner-takes-all fight against the rising Russian star, Gleb Chugunov (Wroclaw/ Eskilstuna) who sits in fourth - just two points behind the Polish rider.
And in the wings, just a few points behind the Russian, are a handful of riders waiting to snatch the Bronze if these two have a bad day. They are Robert Lambert (GBR), who will be appearing in his last U21 race, Wiktor Lampart (POL) and Czech rider, Jan Kvech who will have the advantage of home crowd support. He is the only rider in the top seven to not ride in the Ekstraliga this year but at only 17 yrs has significantly less experience at this level. Then again, he and 18 year old Lampart have done exceptional well to get this far and have nothing to lose as they still have many years left at U21 level to gain a medal.
I am going for a Drabik, Kubera and Chugunov in the medal placings come Friday evening.
The SGP World Championship, Torun, Saturday 5 October
But the undisputed highlight of the Speedway season will be the final Round of the SGP series in Torun on Saturday.
Currently in the lead by eight points is Pole, Bartosz Zmarzlik (pictured) with Russian, Emil Satfutdinov behind him and just two points ahead of Leon Madsen.
Last year's Silver medalist and this year's IMME Ekstraliga champion, Zmarzlik, is definitely favourite and has shown no sign of weakness this season. By far the best rider in Swedish Elitserien with Vetlanda and the second best rider on points in Ekstaliga for Gorzow, it would be a fitting end to the season for him to win his first world championship.
In fact, he would be the first Polish winner of this title since 2010 and that may be the worst thing for the 24-year-old - coping with the pressure from himself, the Polish fans and press desperate for a homegrown world champion on their own turf in their national sport. However, I believe the eight point cushion should be enough to see him take Gold.
But behind him expect a battle royale between the Russian and the Dane for the Silver and Bronze medal.
Despite his injuries, Leon Madsen (Czestochowa) has had a truly remarkable season and showed a ruthless will to win when he beat Kacper Woryna in the SEC last week in the Bronze medal race-off between the two riders who both finished the season on 39 points at the end of the Round 4 in Chorzow.
Meanwhile, Emil Sayfutdinov (Leszno) has not shown the form that meant he won the Swedish SGP in Hallstavik earlier this year, but consistency across the year puts him in with a great chance of a medal. He will need to show a killing instinct in Torun if he is to beat the Dane, who will be out after his third SGP win in this, his first ever season in the competition.
I'm going to go for Zmarzlik, Madsen and Sayfutdinov to take the 1-2-3 on Saturday evening.
