After 20 years, Sweden once again has a talented and ambitious rider for the classics

Tobias Ludvigsson was the last Swedish male rider in the WorldTour, riding for Groupama-FDJ in 2022. While the pro career he started at Giant-Shimano faded out in recent years, Söderqvist — his natural successor — kept knocking louder and louder on the door. The powerful Scandinavian won the prestigious Flanders Tomorrow Tour in 2023 and, a year later, immediately finished second in the prologue of the Tour de la Provence.

In 2024, he also took victories in the Tour de Bretagne, Giro Next Gen, Flèche du Sud and Chrono des Nations, and finished second at the U23 World Championships time trial. But the spots in Lidl-Trek’s WorldTour squad were already filled for 2025. Even so, he spent almost all of 2025 racing with the pro team.

Söderqvist — a big unit of a rider — ended the year on a high, taking the U23 world time trial title in Rwanda (and landing podiums in the Tour of Denmark and the NIBC Tour of Holland. He also went 1-2 in the U23 edition of Paris-Roubaix alongside teammate Albert Withen Philipsen — a result that will have Swedish fans dreaming, 22 years after Magnus Bäckstedt’s win on the cobbles of northern France.

Söderqvist is making a name for himself fast — and he wants to keep that line going, for himself and for his country too. “Right now I’m the only ambassador for what is, in Sweden, a small and somewhat forgotten sport.” “It would mean a lot to me if I can help make cycling more popular and get it more general attention.” “In Sweden, cross-country skiing is a popular endurance sport — you could compare that to what cycling is in Belgium.”

Even though the very best mountain biker of the moment, Jenny Rissveds, comes from the same country. “She’s a lot more popular than I am.” “If you win an Olympic gold medal, in Sweden you’re basically a top athlete for life.” “Especially after the season she’s just had — with that world title and I don’t know how many World Cups.”

Söderqvist himself also has a background in mountain biking, which he says helps him in road racing. “Because of my background in mountain biking, I have a lot of confidence on the bike, and my reaction time is pretty good as well.” “Cognitively, riding in the peloton in a Classic is a bit like picking the right line through the woods on your mountain bike.”

Before travelling to the AlUla Tour, Söderqvist already headed to Belgium and northern France with teammates like Mads Pedersen, Toms Skujins and Søren Kragh Andersen to recon the Classics. “You need a lot of experience — the routes, the efforts, the competition, the weather conditions, the culture behind it, and so on.” “Time will tell whether it’s meant to be.”

“Which races I’ll ride exactly isn’t completely clear yet, but it could be that I even get to do the Monuments,” says the Swede. After Mathias Vacek, he looks like the next Lidl-Trek talent — alongside Albert Withen Philipsen — ready to take a big step forward in the spring.

“Mathias has taken big steps and has grown every year at this team.” “Mathias is an example of someone who doesn’t doubt himself and always goes for it.” “And I recognise myself in a lot of things in Albert right now, because we’re walking the same path together.” “When I think back to Roubaix last year, I still get a big smile on my face.”

All in all, the 1.87m powerhouse — who will also support Jonathan Milan here and there — is heading into a promising year. “I think after this season I’ll know much better what kind of rider I am.” “The time trial will always remain a speciality, also because it feels like a natural skill.” “Because of that quality, I can also do well in stage races of about a week,” “but the Classics remain my dream.”