2025 UCI Road Cycling World Championships in Rwanda: Everything you need to know ahead of the first championships held in Africa

The 2025 UCI Road Cycling World Championships takes place in Kigali, Rwanda, the first time the event has taken place in Africa. 13 world titles will be awarded throughout the week as men's and women's events for juniors, and under-23 riders run alongside the elite men and women.

This is the 98th edition of the UCI worlds and will be one for the climbers. The men's and women's road races feature more climbing than every before, as the pelotons tackle circutous routes with 5,475m and 3,350m of climbing respectively. There are no combined para-cycling events this year.

The elite women kick off proceedings on Sunday, September 21 in the individual time trial. Defending champion Grace Brown (Aus) will not be present as she retired at the end of 2024, meaning 2023 champion Chloe Dygert (USA) is likely to line up as favourite. The men's race takes place in the afternoon where Remco Evenepoel (Bel) will look to defend his title.

Many prominent riders have said they will not be travelling to Rwanda to compete, including 2023 World Champion Mathieu van der Poel and double world champion Lotte Kopecky, citing a a focus on the moutain bike worlds and lack of form respectively. The Netherlands announced earlier this year that they will not send any junior or under-23 riders due to cost, and the USA is only sending a small team. Safety concerns have been raised throughout the year as armed conflict is taking place on the countries border with the Democratic Republic of Congo, however, Rwandan spokesperson said 'everything was fine.'

Scroll down to ream more about the main contenders and routes they'll be riding this year.

Dates: 21-28 September 2024
Events: 13
Location: Kigali, Rwanda
TV Coverage (UK): TNT/Discovery+, BBC
Official website: www.ucikigali2025.rw/

Contenders: Men's and women's elite road races

Just a few weeks out from the Rwanda worlds and many riders are leaving it late to confirm their presence. Tadej Pogačar confirmed he would be riding after the Tour, and TT champ Remco Evenepoel is also. However, some high profile riders have pulled out - notably the Netherlands Mathieu van der Poel and Lotte Kopecky from Belgium.

With the worlds so far from home, it's likely riders will only commit to going if they know they are in good form.

Tadej Pogačar
Slovenia | 26
The defending champion will start as favourite, as he does for any race he starts. The Slovenian has been as close to ubeatable this year as any rider has ever been with seemingly comfortable victories at the Tour de France, Tour of Flanders, Liege-Bastogne-Liege and Strade Bianche. He won all three stage races he started this year, and hasn't finished worse than third in any of the one-day events. The only question mark hanging over him is his motivation. He finished the Tour looking and sounding exhausted, and even questioned how long he would continue racing.

Pauline Ferrand-Prévot
France | 33
The Frenchwoman's return to road racing in 2025 has been nothing short of spectacular. An early win at Paris-Roubaix was a good start although as the race can be something of a lottery, was not taken as a sign of things to come. But then, at the Tour de France Femmes she played her joker. Biding her time until the race hit the mountains and making her move in a pre planned attack that worked wonders. She rode clear of the peloton and left Demi Vollering in her wake. The two biggest races on teh women's calendar, and two wins for Ferrand-Prévot. With a strike rate like that, few will bet against her in Kigali, especially as the route favours the climbers.

Ben Healy
Ireland | 25
If ever there was a race that suits the Irishman's style of road racing, it's the world championships. Run with smaller teams there is less control in the bunch, meaning riders have to race more on instinct; sniffing out the right move, at the right time, and then riding to their advantages. Although diminutive Healy can't climb with the likes of Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard, he excels on tougher routes as he knows how to best use his abilities. He made the final selection of riders chasing Pogačar in Zurich last year but lacked the power in the finale. But now, with another year's racing in his legs, and a breakthrough ride at the Tour de France, he'll be in a much better position after six hours of riding.

Demi Vollering
Netherlands | 28
Throughout the first half of the year, Demi Vollering was the rider to beat, racking up wins at stage race after stage race. But then at the Tour de France Femmes, her main goal, she was no match for Ferrand-Prévot. The two riders will start as favourites in Kigali, with Vollering likely to be enjoying the backing of a slightly stronger team. But that can confuse matters. The Dutch are so strong in international events that other nations sometimes look to them to do all the work. If they don't acquiesce, it can hand the advantage to a breakaway group. Vollering's climbing prowess means she can find herself at the front of the race as everyone else drops away, but after being beaten in France, she'll be taking nothing for granted. Expect her to challenge in the TT as well.

Others to watch

Tom Pidcock is likely to lead the British team in Rwanda, fresh from his first GC bid at a Grand Tour. Three stage wins through the spring and early summer isn't the level we usually expect of the 26-year-old, but his Vuelta challenge represents a significant step up for him. If he can recover well, and hold his form, he should be in the mix. He'll be supported by Oscar Onley, who, while having no one-day race results behind him, emerged as one of the best climbers in the world at the Tour de France. The Italian men's team will likely be led by Giulio Ciccone as the Lidl-Trek rider has excelled in the hilly one-day classics this year. Remco Evenelpoel will lead the Belgium team in the absence of Wout van Aert, although his focus will no doubt be the individual time trial. France are leaving it late to name their team, but will likely call on Tour hero Kevin Vauquelin and climber Lenny Martinez. Don't rule out Julian Alaphilippe either. He may not be at the level he was some time ago, but his experience will make a big difference in a less controlled race.

In the women's race it will once again be all eyes on the Dutch with Marianne Vos, Anna van der Breggen and Pauliena Rooijakkers all joining Vollering in the famous orange kit. The expectation is often on them to do the lions share of the work, something they don't always feel the need to do. Kasia Niewiadoma is set to lead the Polish team with Kim Pienaar, Marien Reusser and Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig all taking leadership roles for their nations. Expect a race with far less control - and therefore far more entertaining - as few teams will have the strength in depth to take control over such a tough course.

Road race routes

Men's and Women's Elite road race

If you thought that Zürich’s World Championships road race was hilly, think again. As Africa hosts the event for the first time, Kigali brings an incredibly climb-heavy course to the table. With 5,475m of elevation over 267.5km in the elite men’s, it is the hilliest road race since Sallanches in 1980, and the only time over 5,000m of climbing has been tackled in the 21st century. Think less typical road race, and more Giro d’Italia epic mountain day.

Similarly, the elite women’s race officially has 3,350m of elevation, the most of any Worlds road race in the professional era.

All of this will be done at altitude, too, with Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, 1,567 metres above sea level, higher than the capital of Andorra, where many pro cyclists live. It is a World Championships made for climbers.

The road races do not leave the capital, which is likely to do with the logistics of taking the world’s best riders to a developing country; while the Tour du Rwanda makes a habit of travelling around, the best roads, relaid for such an occasion, are in Kigali.

Image 1 of 4

Road to #Kigali2025 🇷🇼: The final stretch - YouTube

Watch On

Contenders: Elite men's and women's individual time trials

Remco Evenepoel
Belgium | 25
Aiming for this third TT world title on the bounce, you'd be brave to bet against the rider with the most aerodynamic TT position in the men's peloton. Evenepoel doesn't put out as many watts as the likes of 2021 world champ Filippo Ganna but the Belgian creates a much smaller shape with which to punch through the air. Evenepoel was in action at the recent Tour of Britain after pulling out of the Tour de France and away from his Soudal team - he is moving to Red Bull Bora Hansgrohe for 2026 onwards - he will be focusing his training on the world champs. Expect him to be in the running for the road race too.

Chloé Dygert
USA | 28
A solid start to the year tailed off for the American as she failed to finish both the Vuelta España Femenina and the Tour de France Femmes. A social media post with references to suffering abuse raised question marks over her wellbeing and motivation to ride, but the two time champion often spends time at home, away from the European scene, where she seems to thrive as she prepares for competition away from the spotlight and stress of the racing scene. She hasn't won an individual TT since Glasgow 2023, but don't let that sway you, if she has time to focus on her position and training she will be a threat. The technical nature of the course could be her main challenge.

Filippo Ganna
Italy | 29
Crashing out on day one of the Tour de France would have been a huge blow for the Italian this July, but he's bounced back at the Vuelta, winning the time trial on stage 10 and placing second on three other stages. He is clearly enjoying a good run of form. He'll need that if he's to beat Evenepoel. Ganna looked set to dominate TT racing when he won the title in 2020 and 2021, but the emergence of Evenepoel has knocked the Italian down the steps of the podium. If he comes out of the Vuelta with good form he has every chance of taking back that title.

Anna Henderson
Great Britain | 26
Always reliable in a TT, Henderson proved at the Paris Olympics what she could achieve given the time and motivation to focus her training. A silver medal behind the flying Grace Brown was her best TT result to date and one that elevated her to TT contender status. She helped guide her team to a TTT win on the opening stage of the Vuelta España Femenina and has performed solidly in one-day road races and TTs throughout the season. Unshackled from her role as domestique at Lidl-Trek, Henderson has every chance of challenging for a medal in Rwanda. Potentially in the road race as well.

Time trial race routes

Image 1 of 5

Both the men's and and women's time trials start at Kigali's BK Arena, normally used for hosting basketball and volleyball matches. The race routes are what we would commonly refer to as sporting courses; ie. not a pure time trial specialist’s course. There's 460 metres of climbing across 31.2km for the women, and 680 metres in 40.6km for the men.

Unusually for a time trial, the route also includes a cobbled section which will no doubt have riders and mechanics arguing about tyre pressures. The women’s race includes ascents of the Côte de Nyanza from both sides, first from the north, 2.5km at 5.8%, before 4.1km at 3.1%. There is then a long, reasonably straight, descent towards the cobbles, which come before the Côte de Kimihurura, 1.3km at 6.1%, before a finish at the Kigali Convention Centre.