‘No expectations’ – Jakob Söderqvist ends under-23 career in rainbow jersey before starting next chapter on the WorldTour

Jakob Söderqvist has ended his under-23 career in the best possible way – in the rainbow jersey, having won the category’s individual time trial at the 2025 UCI Road World Championships in Kigali on Monday.

At 22 years old, the Swedish rider will move up to the top-tier of racing with Lidl-Trek’s WorldTour team, and while he may be a specialist in the race against the clock, he is also hoping for a chance to compete in a range of major Spring Classics.

“The time trial is my biggest specialty at the moment, which I find the most natural, but in the coming years, I would really like to have projects around the bigger Spring Classics, in a similar fashion to this, and it could also be that some stage races suit me with my time trial capabilities.

“We will see how I develop year after year without trying to box myself in with expectations.”

As for the individual time trial in Kigali, Söderqvist said he knew he had what it would take to win the world title, especially after finishing second place to Spain’s Iván Romeo in Zürich last year.

“I think that at points I thought I could pull off a performance like this, but, for sure, it was not something that I expected to do in that way. I know that some stars have to align and you really have to have good preparations,” he said, covering the hilly 32.1km course in a winning time of 38:24, over a minute faster than silver medallist Nate Pringle from New Zealand.

“I needed to be honest with myself about race pacing, but I think that I really put out the right key focuses throughout the course to make up as much time as possible in the most important race. I’m super, super proud of my race, but I knew that I had it in me.”

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