These were no ordinary road cycling world championships: Bobby Julich dives in on what made Rwanda one to remember.
The Rwanda worlds delivered a special atmosphere for Africa’s first. (Photo: DIRK WAEM / BELGA MAG / Belga via AFP)
Published October 2, 2025 05:09AM
When the 92nd road cycling world championships concluded last Sunday in Kigali, Rwanda, I must admit that I was thoroughly impressed with the organization and the quality of racing throughout the week.
When the race was announced years ago, I fully supported the effort by the UCI to globalize cycling and awarding Rwanda with the responsibility of pulling off the first world championships on the African continent, but the closer we got to the event, I had some doubts due to the political climate in the area.
Those doubts turned out to be unnecessary, as Rwanda put on quite a show and everything went off without a hitch.
Of course, the weather played a significant role in this, as the races would have been much different if it had rained. I was able to watch almost every event live on my streaming service here in the USA.
From day one, I could see the passion and sheer number of Rwandan fans lining the roads, which was quite impressive. The course designs, while very challenging for the riders, were spectacular for cycling fans. We were treated to some entertaining racing throughout the week.
No surprises in race of truth
Rwanda created a special environment for Africa’s first road worlds. (Photo: ANNE-CHRISTINE POUJOULAT/AFP via Getty Images)
The combination of climbs and cobblestone sections reminded me of races in northern Europe.
As often happens in the world championships, most of the time trial events were dominated by the favorites.
The only closely contested individual event was the junior men’s time trial, where the podium was separated by less than nine seconds. When so many of the time trial events are won by large margins, you must respect the preparation of these athletes and their coaches.
Much goes into preparing for a one-day event at altitude and in unfamiliar surroundings, but everything still has to go perfectly on race day.
I also really enjoy the Team Time Trial Mixed Relay event, a unique addition to the world championships. It must be quite an honor and a lot of fun to participate while wearing the national team kit.
The stakes are high, as in every team time trial, a bad day by any rider means all the effort and preparation could be for nothing. The event starts with a team of three men completing a lap of the course as fast as they can.
As soon as the second male rider crosses the finish line, the team of three women set off to complete the same distance. The team’s final time is recorded when the second woman crosses the finish line. This format created major suspense, and similar to the junior men’s individual time trial event, the podium was separated by just 10 seconds, with Australia coming out on top.
Welcome to the big time, Magdeleine
Gold medalist Magdeleine Vallieres (Canada) celebrates after the UCI Cycling World Championships. (Photo: Dario Belingheri/Getty Images)
The most prestigious races of the world championships, the road race events, featured a mix of sprint finishes, major upsets, and dominant performances across different categories.
On such a demanding course, the outcome is determined more by how the riders race than by the difficulty of the parcours. If you have a number pinned on your back, you have a chance to become World Champion, and if you succeed, you will have that honor forever.
A perfect example of this was when Magdeleine Vallieres of Canada broke away from her companions on the final lap of the Elite Women’s Road Race. She was not a favorite by any means, but she took destiny into her own hands, made her own luck, and became the first Canadian woman to win the road race title.
I was particularly impressed with how the winners of the junior men, U23 men, and elite men raced one of the most difficult World Championship circuits ever. In the highly contested junior road race, Harry Hudson of Great Britain decided to go solo with more than two laps remaining.
He had just enough to hold off a strong chasing peloton that included two of his British teammates. Great Britain obviously did something right in preparing for this race, as did team Lidl-Trek in signing him to their development team for next year.
What really stood out to me was his post-race interview. For a young man who showed no fear on the bike in the final laps with the world’s best junior racers chasing him, he looked and acted like a shy schoolboy on TV. I really hope to see this rider succeed in the future, but nothing is guaranteed these days.
If you are looking for a guarantee of a professional career, look no further than U23 road race champion Lorenzo Finn of Italy. At only 18 years old, he is not only the reigning junior world champion from last year in Zurich but also backed up that title with another rainbow jersey as a first-year U23 rider.
Already signed to the Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe development team, this rider has everyone talking about him. He is obviously heading in the right direction, and I hope we continue to see him progress. I wouldn’t be surprised if we see him in the WorldTour as early as next year.
Pogačar in league of his own
Pogačar always makes it look easy, even when it’s not. (Photo: David Ramos/Getty Images )
What else can we say about Tadej Pogačar that hasn’t been said time and time again over the last few seasons, especially this year?
After a mediocre time trial where he was caught and passed by Remco Evenepoel, he had every excuse to pull the pin and start planning his off-season on an exotic beach somewhere, but he is just a special rider who seems to have no limits.
As the reigning world champion from Zurich, Tadej couldn’t have asked for a better course when he is on form and motivated.
However, it seemed that his competition could smell blood in the water and a chance to topple him on the hilly and cobbled circuit around Kigali
The elite men’s road race was the only event that included the difficult 6km Mont Kigali climb, in addition to the hard circuits that everyone else raced on.
On paper, it looked like a perfect launch pad for Tadej, but with over 100km to the finish line from the top, surely there was no way he would go from that far out.
Mostly seated and seemingly in total control, we saw the best riders in the world distanced on the climb. If it wasn’t for a herculean effort by Juan Ayuso and Isaac del Torro, his UAE Team Emirates-XRG trade team teammates, to bridge to and stay on his wheel for a short period, it would have been an even longer solo move than the one he pulled off last year.
Congratulations to the UCI, the organizational team, governing bodies, and especially the riders for putting on and giving us such a great event. I can’t wait for Montreal in 2026!