2025 UCI Road World Championships – Riders to watch
The 2025 UCI Road World Championships in Kigali feature one of the toughest men’s road race courses in Worlds history. With 5,475 metres of climbing on a 267.5 km route, the parcours is set to favour pure climbers – above all reigning champion Pogačar, arriving less than two months after sealing his fourth Tour de France title.
With Vuelta a España champion Jonas Vingegaard absent, Pogačar’s main rival is expected to be 2022 world champion Evenepoel, while Britain’s Tom Pidcock, Italy’s Giulio Ciccone, and Mexico’s Isaac Del Toro are among the outsiders.
The women’s road race is shorter at 165 km, but with 3,350 metres of climbing it promises to be just as demanding. Olympic mountain bike champion Ferrand-Prévot is targeting a first road world title for 11 years, but will face stiff competition from the Netherlands’ Demi Vollering, Italy’s Elisa Longo Borghini, and Poland’s Katarzyna Niewiadoma.
The 40.6 km time trial, featuring 680 metres of elevation gain, should see another showdown between Evenepoel and Pogačar, with Jay Vine of Australia, Bruno Armirail of France, and Stefan Küng of Switzerland also in contention.
In the women’s time trial, the spotlight will be on two-time champion Chloé Dygert, with Switzerland’s Marlen Reusser chasing gold after three podium finishes.