Reflections from Rwanda – Eight things we learned at the World Championships

Tsige Kahsay Kiros finishes seventh in the junior women’s road race at the 2025 UCI Road World Championships in Rwanda (Image credit: SWPix)

One of the most successful initiatives to emerge from the sport’s governing body is its World Cycling Centre (WCC) programme, a two-decade-long commitment to globalising cycling by developing athletes worldwide.

With a home base at its headquarters in Aigle, Switzerland, it has provided opportunities for athletes to learn and excel in the five Olympic disciplines of road, track, BMX Racing, BMX Freestyle, and mountain biking, while also developing cycling both locally and internationally.

The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!

The talent identification process is carried out in collaboration with the five Continental Confederations. Athletes are spotted by their National Federations for cycling, especially in developing nations, if they have high-level training aptitude. The WCC then offers part and full scholarships, including a full range of equipment, lodging, meals, coaching and an opportunity to compete in top-level races.

In addition to providing training and racing opportunities in Switzerland, satellite education programs have been established worldwide, offering training, coaching, mechanics education, and support.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Ever since the courses for this year’s World Championships races were announced, we’ve been talking about how hard they are. Steep climbs, thousands of metres of climbing, and some cobbles thrown in for good measure, too. And they have been really challenging, but speaking to riders this week, it isn’t actually the climbs or the cobbles that are the hardest things, but the conditions.

The combination of altitude and air pollution has left riders feeling the pain in their lungs more than their legs, whilst the heat has seen several riders end their race with cramps. Riders have done a lot to try and adapt to these conditions in advance, with contenders even down to the junior levels going on altitude camp and training in simulated heat, but adaptation only makes it easier, not easy. In some races, the difficulty in fact dampened the action with riders hesitant to attack early, or too many times, with so little chance to recover.

For all that the races were undeniably tough, however, the course has also left some things to be desired. After watching 13 races across the week on the same 15km loop (for the most part), the wide, sweeping roads that make up much of the course can become a bit uninspiring, even if that’s the norm for Worlds. Adding the extension loop to the women’s race, or having the road races start out of the city before joining the circuit, could have mixed things up a bit and shown the cycling world more of Rwanda. (MP)

Lorenzo Finn celebrates with his Italian teammates (Image credit: Zac Williams/SWpix)

There were many successes across the junior and under-23 women’s and men’s categories in Kigali, showcasing the up-and-coming talent and the who’s who of the future of professional cycling. Many of them were already snapped up by the top teams in the sport.

(Image credit: Alex Whitehead/SWpix)

Junior racing has been becoming more and more serious and important for several years now, with riders increasingly being snapped up by professional teams whilst they are still in the under-19 category, but this World Championships really hammered home that point. Listening to the junior winners and medallists talk about their preparations, it was astounding to hear how many had been to altitude camp before Kigali, or had been sleeping in altitude tents provided by their federations. This is preparation befitting of a professional, being done by 16 and 17-year-olds.

Junior racing used to be the very beginning of a rider’s racing career, with the under-23 category the time when they’d then start thinking about getting a professional contract, but now, many talented riders are already on the WorldTour pathway once they graduate from the juniors. Paula Ostiz, Harry Hudson and Michiel Mouris are all on WorldTour or WorldTour development teams next year – Megan Arens is the only 2025 junior world champ whose next step isn’t yet confirmed. This shift is also exemplified by the announcement during the worlds that the Under-23 Nations’ Cup will end this year. Development and recruitment really happens at junior level now – under-23 racing outside of trade teams is really just not needed anymore, because riders being 22 without a contract yet is becoming a thing of the past. (MP)

Massive crowds lined the Mur de Kigali (Image credit: Zac Williams/SWpix)

(Image credit: Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com)

After many years of waiting, and three years of unsatisfying ‘races within races’, Kigali 2025 finally marked the arrival of the first standalone events for the women’s under-23 category, and they did not disappoint. Both races did exactly what they were designed to do: allowed riders to shine in their own age category, and achieve results they wouldn’t in the elite category. Finally having a shorter course for the under-23 time trial allowed Zoe Bäckstedt to show off her talents and win a world title again. As for the road race, it was one of the most exciting and dynamic events of the week, with France taking control of the race to deliver Célia Gery to a historic title.

It was WorldTour riders who won both categories, but they weren’t riders who have been winning at a high level for a long time, so it certainly didn’t feel like bonus or easy wins for riders who are already pro. It felt like watching well-matched riders go up against each other in exciting events, and more riders having a chance at success – what’s not to like?

Riders did speak after the race about a relative lack of depth in the category, but that’s to be expected in the first year, and at a championships where some nations only sent reduced teams. The depth will come, and these events – which were already really competitive and exciting – will only get better. I only wish we could have had them sooner. (MP)

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Many of the races in Kigali, most notably the elite women’s road race, showed us that even if you start the race as a clear favourite, you’re not guaranteed anything. Names like Cat Ferguson, Jarno Widar and Erin Boothman all faltered in their respective races, but it couldn’t have been any clearer than in the women’s elite race.

The big group of favourites had all been talked up, were all there at the key moment, and in the end were foiled by outsiders. They said they weren’t underestimating the leading group, but there must have been a touch of that, thinking that their group of big names would easily be able to close the gap. But they couldn’t, and the crop of stars that started the day at the top of the list of contenders didn’t get to battle for anything.

Remco Evenepoel is probably feeling a bit similar on Monday, as he went into the men’s road race as a top contender, and on great form after his time trial victory, but that status can’t protect you from bad luck. Instead of getting to go for a win, a mechanical at a bad moment saw the Belgian struggling with his position as Pogačar attacked, and he never quite came back from it, settling for second.

The exception to this rule is, of course, Tadej Pogačar. The Slovenian somehow has the ability to start multiple races as the top favourite, and multiple times he will deliver. He never seems to be affected by the pressure or expectations, he rarely befalls any bad luck, and he never gets tangled up in any tactical games. He knows he’s the strongest, he knows he’s the best, and he delivers. (MP)

(Image credit: Zac Williams/SWpix)

The expectations were always going to be high for this landmark event, after all, it has been more than a century since the inaugural UCI Road World Championships, with the majority of them having been held across Europe and, on rare occasions, reaching North America, South America, Asia, and Oceania.

However, this edition of road cycling’s centrepiece event finally reached Africa, marking a historic moment that will undoubtedly be remembered as one of the first steps toward the long-time promise of a truly global sport for everyone.

There is no disputing that the organisation of the Rwanda Worlds were executed to near perfection, setting a new benchmark for how a major international event can manage sporting logistics, safety, spectator experience, and the participation of 108 nations around the world, 38 from Africa, across 13 events for eight days of racing in the capital of Kigali.

One of the most significant legacies is something that can’t be measured, and that is allowing a nation to showcase its country to the world; its athletes, cities, landscapes, and culture. There will be hope that hosting an event as big as the World Championships will help bring more racing and development opportunities, not only to Rwanda, but to many other nations across Africa, and to inspire the next generation.

Rwanda’s human rights record remains a concern and is under the scrutiny of international advocacy groups, an important point of discussion at these Worlds. The UCI cannot continue to evade questions about its potential contribution to sportswashing, not just in Rwanda but in several other nations with poor human rights records, and where it draws the line between human rights and its own return on investment. (KF)