Jakob Söderqvist ended his Under 23 career in the best possible way, winning the rainbow jersey in the time trial at the 2025 UCI World Championships in Kigali.

The 23-year-old Swede, who will make his WorldTour debut with Lidl-Trek next year, dominated the time trial, beating New Zealander Nate Pringle by more than a minute on the technical 32.1km course.

'I don't like to put too much pressure or expectations on myself regarding what I can do well, I don't want to confine myself to a specific box as a runner,' Söderqvist said at a press conference at the Kigali Convention Centre.

The young Scandinavian talent is coming off two successful seasons with the Lidl-Trek Future Racing team, where he took second place at the Paris-Roubaix Espoirs and won a stage at the Tour of Denmark, as well as two consecutive national time trial titles.

"Time trials are my main discipline at the moment, they come more naturally to me, but in the coming years I'd also like to focus on the major spring classics. Furthermore, with my time trial skills, I could adapt well to stage races as well. We'll see how I develop year after year," explained the new world champion.

Regarding his world championship performance, Söderqvist admitted: "I knew I could perform like this, especially after finishing second last year in Zurich. I managed the effort well and focused on the key points of the course. I'm super proud of my race; I knew I had this result in my legs."