After four days devoted to time trials (21-24 September), the 2025 UCI Road World Championships will continue with four days of road races in Kigali, Rwanda.
Rwanda’s reputation as the ‘land of a thousand hills’ will truly come into its own as the riders tackle challenging courses at the first-ever edition of the event to be held on the African continent. The Women Under 23 riders – competing in a standalone race for the first time – will set the tone on Thursday 25 September followed by the Men Junior and Men Under 23 (Friday), Women Junior and Women Elite (Saturday) and Men Elite (Sunday).
Mont Kigali and Kigali’s wall
All road races will start and finish at the Kigali Convention Centre. The 15.1km local circuit heads north to tackle the Côte de Kigali Golf (0.8km at 8.1%) before returning to the Kigali Convention Centre over the Côte de Kimihurura (1.3km at 6.3% on cobbles), also a decisive ascent in the time trials.
The Men Elite course is the longest, starting with nine laps on the local circuit before tackling a 42.5km loop with the ascent up Mont Kigali (5.9km at 6.9%) and the famed Mur de Kigali (0.4km at 11% on cobbles), and eventually returning for six more laps of the local circuit. Over 267.5 kilometres of racing, the peloton will face 5,475 metres of elevation gain, a figure in the same ballpark as the historic edition of Nürburgring (Germany) in 1966, and around 1,000 metres higher than last year’s Men Elite road race in Zurich, Switzerland.
Other races will focus on the local circuit: eleven laps (164.6km of racing, 3,350m of elevation) for the Women Elite and Men Under 23, eight laps (119.3km, 2,435m) for the Women Under 23 and the Men Junior, and five laps (74.0km, 1,520m) for the Women Junior.
The same roads traditionally provide exhilarating action to the delight of massive crowds attending the Tour of Rwanda.
Established and rising stars to watch
Slovenia’s Tadej Pogačar is a hot favourite in the men’s race to double down on his first rainbow conquest, last year. The climbs and cobbles featured in the individual time trial could already favour him, and there’s no doubt the road race course has all the ingredients to ignite his attacking spirit.
His 2024 haul, with the Giro d’Italia’s ‘maglia rosa’, the Tour de France’s ‘maillot jaune’ and the UCI Road World Championships’ rainbow jersey was already a rare feat. Winning the Tour and the UCI Worlds in two consecutive years would be unprecedented. Who will try to upset the Slovenian star, may it be through an attrition race, on the punchiest slopes or through technical sections? Belgium’s Remco Evenepoel also has the skill set for such challenges, and the list of contenders is full of global stars: Eritrea’s Biniam Girmay, Mexico’s Isaac Del Toro, Great Britain’s Tom Pidcock, Spain’s Juan Ayuso…
Two-time and reigning Women Elite UCI Road World Champion Lotte Kopecky (Belgium) will not be racing, and the battle to succeed her brings together icons from all around the world. As always, the Netherlands are stacked with talent - Demi Vollering, Anna van der Breggen, Marianne Vos… But the Dutch will be challenged on all fronts with France’s Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, Italy’s Elisa Longo Borghini, Mauritian Kim Le Court, Switzerland’s Elise Chabbey, Poland’s Kasia Niewiadoma…
All these stars have proven their skills at the highest level of cycling. And the best of the next generation are gearing to show their worth in an environment as prestigious as the UCI Road World Championships. In the younger categories, watch out for special talents such as Sidney Swierenga (Canada), Paula Ostiz (Spain), Jarno Widar (Belgium), Jakob Omrzel (Slovenia), Cat Ferguson (Great Britain), and recently crowned Under 23 UCI Mountain Bike World Champion Isabella Holmgren (Canada)… among others!