"Jakob is insanely good at this" - Mads Pedersen full of praise for young teammate Söderqvist as Lidl-Trek continue to dominate 2025 Tour of Denmark
Cycling
Jakob Söderqvist has shown his potential in emphatic style at the 2025 Tour of Denmark, storming to victory in Stage 3’s individual time trial with a performance that caught even him off guard — and earned unequivocal praise from Lidl-Trek teammate and GC leader Mads Pedersen.
Against a field stacked with proven time trialists — including Johan Price-Pejtersen, Soren Waerenskjold, and Alec Segaert — Söderqvist produced a ride of 15:28 that didn’t just hold up under pressure; it stood tallest in a tense final hour of racing. “It’s absolutely huge,” the young Swede told DR in his post-stage interview afterwards. “I didn’t think it was possible, or that I had the capacity for it. I knew the shape was good, but this? No.”
Söderqvist’s measured pacing and aerodynamic efficiency were on full display. He overhauled Segaert’s benchmark time by five seconds, and while much attention had shifted to Pedersen — the last man on course and just fractions down at the intermediate split — the Dane ultimately faded in the final third, conceding 14 seconds to finish second.
“I wouldn’t have been surprised if Mads had beaten me at the split,” Söderqvist admitted. “He always goes out hard. The question is whether that approach holds. Sometimes it does — sometimes it breaks.”
Pedersen, who retained the race lead and further strengthened his GC position, had no illusions about where the day was won and lost. “I dropped it all between the split and the line,” he said. “Even if I’d paced it differently, I don’t think I could’ve gone faster. Jakob is insanely good at this. It’s a huge win and a huge result for him.”
The two Lidl–Trek riders — one a proven classics star, the other an emerging TT specialist — offered a textbook demonstration of dual ambition managed perfectly within a unified team strategy. Pedersen’s reaction was refreshingly blunt and devoid of ego: he simply got beaten by the better man on the day.
“There’s nothing I would’ve done differently,” he continued. “Jakob was just significantly faster, and unbelievably good at this kind of effort. Massive congrats to him. It’s just cool to be his teammate when he delivers like that.”
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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