{"id":110616,"date":"2025-09-22T17:29:27","date_gmt":"2025-09-22T17:29:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/soderqvist-wins-first-gold-in-u23-mens-time-trial"},"modified":"2025-09-22T18:54:19","modified_gmt":"2025-09-22T18:54:19","slug":"soderqvist-wins-first-gold-in-u23-mens-time-trial","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/soderqvist-wins-first-gold-in-u23-mens-time-trial","title":{"rendered":"S\u00f6derqvist Wins First Gold in U23 Men’s Time Trial"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Rwanda. <\/strong><\/span>Swedish prospect Jakob So\u0308derqvist stormed to victory and claimed his first rainbow jersey in the men\u2019s Under-23 time trial at the 2025 UCI Road World Championships in Kigali on Monday, September 22.<\/p>\n

The 21-year-old completed the 31.2km course in 38 minutes and 24 seconds, finally climbing the podium as winner after two failed attempts.<\/p>\n

He particularly impressed on the final uphill stretch, nearly doubling his 33-second lead from the third time check to the finish\u2014on a section of the course that, on paper, should have been his weakest due to his larger build.<\/p>\n

So\u0308derqvist was contesting the U23 ITT at the World Championships for the third consecutive year. His win in Kigali marked a steady progression from his second-place finish in Zurich in 2024 and seventh in Stirling in 2023. Confident of his victory, the Swede roared in celebration as he crossed the line.<\/p>\n

Swedish Jakob So\u0308derqvist stormed in action ahead of his victory as he claimed his first rainbow jersey in the men\u2019s Under-23 time trial. Olivier Mugwiza<\/p>\n

New Zealand\u2019s Nate Pringle, making his debut at the World Championships, held on for silver, narrowly edging out France\u2019s Maxime Decomble by just 17 hundredths of a second. Decomble, who mounted a strong challenge on the final climb, settled for bronze.<\/p>\n

The day\u2019s action began at 13:50 at BK Arena with home rider Etienne Tuyizere opening the time trial. Of the 61 riders scheduled to start, only Jarno Widar (Belgium) withdrew due to a minor injury.<\/p>\n

Tuyizere initially set the benchmark at 43:37, but the most notable early performance came from Slovenia\u2019s Jaka Marolt, who clocked 42:13, averaging 44 km\/h. His time was later shattered by Poland\u2019s Mateusz Gajdulewicz, competing in his fourth U23 World Championships ITT, who became the first to finish under 40 minutes with a time of 39:52.<\/p>\n

Rwanda\u2019s Samuel Niyonkuru finished 29th, 4 minutes and 50 seconds behind So\u0308derqvist, while Tuyizere placed 31st, 5 minutes and 12 seconds off the winning pace.<\/p>\n

The race marked Tuyizere\u2019s final competitive appearance, while Niyonkuru is set to race again in the U23 men\u2019s road race on Friday, September 26.<\/p>\n\r\n