Peterborough Panthers legend and double title-winning hero has retired from speedway

​The Danish superstar, who helped Panthers win two top-flight titles, called time on his racing days on Tuesday.

And he insists he won’t be tempted to make a comeback.

Andersen led his country to victory in the 2008 Speedway World Cup Final, but admits the highlight of his career was the same year – but at the East of England Showground.

He and teammate Ryan Sullivan crowned a dramatic comeback from 12 points down with only three races left to clinch a Grand Final victory for Panthers against Reading.

Hans led the unprecedented comeback by winning a race as a double points-scoring tactical substitute and teamed up with Sullivan for the last-race maximum that saw the Showground erupt to hail the new Elite League champions.

Andersen said: “To win the league in the very last race of the season was just amazing. It’s not the biggest achievement but it was definitely up there because of the way it happened.”

Andersen would repeat the feat in 2021 with Panthers’ title-winning Dad’s Army, but it was a far less dramatic victory as they beat Belle Vue in the Grand Final, as he crashed in his opening race in the first leg and was a pits spectator for the return meeting.

Andersen never completed a race over the two legs as he suffered injuries when he crashed in his opening ride at the National Speedway Stadium, but was in the pits with his season-long teammates and played an important part in the success.

Andersen had five different spells in Peterborough, making his debut in 2003 and also riding for the Panthers in 2006-08, 2011, and between 2019 and 2023. He rode in 206 official matches, scoring 2,074 points.

Andersen said: “It is something I thought about quietly over the winter.

“It feels right now. I don't really feel anything from the injuries I've had. I can still walk and run. I have a bit metal in my hand and around the body, but it's nothing that gives me any problems or pains at all.

“I still have many years ahead of me where I want to be able to wake up without any pains.”

Andersen came through the ranks. He had his first bike as a toddler, made his racing debut as a nine-year-old and went on to captain his country in a gold medal-winning World Cup side.

Denmark had strength in depth with ex-Panthers’ colleague Nicki Pedersen dominating the global stage with three individual world titles while Hans twice finished fifth in the Grand Prix rankings.

Overall he won six GPs, two World Cup gold medals, the Danish Championship in 2007 and league titles in Denmark, Poland, Sweden and the UK.

Andersen added: “In my career there’s been sacrifices and things we’ve not been able to do due to my commitments, so now it’s my time to pay them back. I would not have been able to race speedway without so much support, particularly from my wife.”