Søren Wærenskjold (Uno-X Mobility) has won the opening stage of the Lidl Deutschland Tour 2025. The Norwegian claimed victory in a nail-biting finish, beating Samuel Watson (INEOS Grenadiers) by half a second and Marco Haller (Tudor Pro Cycling Team) by 1.8 seconds. With this result, Wærenskjold becomes the first wearer of the Blue Jersey and overall leader going into the second stage to Herford.
It was Wærenskjold’s 16th career win as a professional, and his fourth this year. “But my last prologue victory was already a few years ago,” said the stage winner, who is racing the Lidl Deutschland Tour for the first time. “I was a bit nervous and also excited, because to achieve something here you really have to go full gas the entire time. But what was also decisive was getting out of the corners quickly – and of course, a good warm-up.
At 25 years old, Wærenskjold is considered a strong time trial specialist, having been the U23 World Champion against the clock in 2022. However, he has also celebrated wins in bunch sprints. “There are still one or two tougher stages waiting for us – and of course the mass sprints. We have a few fast guys here and we hope that in the end we can also play a strong role in the overall classification.”
