The 2025 UCI Highway World Championships will happen in Kigali, Rwanda, within the coming week, marking the primary time biking’s largest one-day titles are contested on African soil.
Over eight days of racing, 13 rainbow jerseys shall be awarded in time trials and street races for juniors, under-23 and elite riders. In contrast to the professional calendar, which is contested in commerce groups, the Worlds see riders don their nationwide colors to chase essentially the most prestigious prize in biking. For the winners, the reward is the last word accolade. Along with going into the file e book as best-in-the-world, winners additionally earn the fitting to put on the rainbow jersey for a season and the rainbow armband as a mark of their world champion standing for all times.
Even so, the racing shall be no much less fierce, and with each defending champions absent, new names are assured to be etched into biking historical past. Our Information Editor Adam Becket and North American Editor Anne-Marije Rook take a stab at who they consider shall be carrying the game’s most iconic stripes subsequent season — providing up their thoughts, coronary heart and wild card picks.
Time Trials
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The elite ladies kick off proceedings on Sunday, September 21, within the particular person time trial, with the male contestants following 50 minutes after the ladies’s race concludes.
All time trials races share the identical primary route, which is a extremely uncommon one that includes vital climbing and, even, some cobbles.
Not one for the pure time trial specialists like Filippo Ganna or Ellen van Dijk, the ladies’s 31.2km (19.4-mile) race options 460 metres (1500’) of climbing, whereas the lads’s race will climb 680 metres (2231’) in 40.6km (25.2 miles).
The ladies’s elite time trial champion shall be…..
Anne-Marije Rook
With reigning Olympic and World time trial champion Grace Brown retired from elite racing, final yr’s runner-ups Demi Vollering (Netherlands) and Chloé Dygert (USA) are the recent favourites for the rainbow jersey. As a Dutch nationwide and your North American editor, I’m in a tough spot. Who do I favour?
🧠 Regardless of the hilly course, it’s exhausting to wager in opposition to Dygert. Her race-start-to-podium-finish ratio is outrageous. She’s extremely selective along with her race calendar and ruthlessly environment friendly. When she reveals up, it’s as a result of she is aware of she will be able to win. With two world titles already in her again pocket, I wouldn’t wager in opposition to her making it three.
❤️ I decide Marlen Reusser (Switzerland) for my coronary heart decide as a result of she’s had such a rollercoaster season and I’d wish to see her finish it on a excessive notice. After successful the Tour de Suisse, her run on the Giro was sturdy stopped brief by Elisa Longo Borghini. The Tour de France Femmes ought to have been her stage, however as a substitute, she was sidelined with meals poisoning. Having already stood on the Worlds podium thrice, it’d be good to see her on the highest step.
🃏 After which there’s Anna van der Breggen (Netherlands), the last word darkish horse. Again within the peloton after a three-year retirement, we’ve got but to see her dominant type of previous however her résumé on this self-discipline is tough to disregard: 5 Worlds medals (4 silver, one gold) and two Olympic bronzes with some nationwide and European championship titles besides.
🧠There could possibly be a brand new world champion within the ladies’s TT, though Chloé Dygert (USA) and Anna van der Breggen (Netherlands) shall be making an attempt to take again the rainbow jersey. On a hilly course in Kigali, nonetheless, it may go to somebody like Demi Vollering (additionally from the Netherlands). Vollering hasn’t received a time trial for the reason that Tour de France Femmes final yr, however completed second within the Worlds final yr, and is a strong performer within the race in opposition to the clock. I feel she is the almost definitely to win, however that doesn’t imply she is going to.
❤️Nice Britain’s Anna Henderson is effectively inside contact of the rostrum, and will even win, given the technical nature of the course. She isn’t as famed a climber as Vollering or Van der Breggen, however she did win silver on the Paris Olympics final yr, and that is her solely aim on the Worlds, so she’ll be going all in.
🃏It appears odd to name Marlen Reusser a wildcard, contemplating the Swiss rider made her identify as a TT specialist, however she has centered extra on climbing this yr. She shall be among the many favourites, however a win would even be big for her, as it might be her first win at this degree.
Simon Richardson
🧠Demi Vollering (Netherlands). Vollering won’t be identified for her time trialling outcomes, however that’s solely as a result of her street outcomes overshadow them. Second final yr in Zurich got here after two ITT wins all through the season. The climbs on the course in Rwanda will favour her over a extra pure TT rider like Marlen Reusser, and she or he’s all the time a secure wager.
❤️Chloe Dygert (USA). Dygert’s uncooked energy is a pleasure to observe. When she’s at full health, she’s a pleasure to observe on the bike. Whether or not it’s on the monitor or the street. She nonetheless hasn’t cracked street racing. She didn’t develop up racing bikes, so she doesn’t know her method across the peloton in addition to many Dutch or Belgian riders, so the TT is her time to shine.
🃏Anna Kiesenhofer (Austria). Because the Olympic street race on the 2020 Olympic Video games proved, Kiesenhofer is able to upsetting the apple cart when races and occasions don’t observe the same old sample. She doesn’t get many probabilities to do this within the WorldTour, however these worlds are a great distance from Europe, and I simply marvel if some out-of-the-ordinary outcomes are on the way in which.
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The boys’s elite time trial champion shall be…..
🧠How may you not decide Remco Evenepoel of Belgium? The 25-year-old is the one with the aerodynamic pores and skin, and he has received three WorldTour time trials this yr. In the event you assume this TT is just too hilly for him, then you definitely clearly haven’t seen him climb, as he’s fairly good at this, too.
❤️My coronary heart, nonetheless, says that that is going to be the yr of Tadej Pogačar. The Slovenian is a degree above everybody else, and he may storm to this time trial, though he was off Evenepoel’s tempo on the Tour de France and Critérium du Dauphiné. These had been flatter, although, and Pogačar is the perfect at going up hills.
🃏I’d simply love Stefan Küng to win. In an period of generational skills, the Swiss rider has come so shut, ending on the rostrum on the Worlds twice. He hasn’t received a time trial this yr, so it might be a little bit of a shock.
Anne-Marije Rook
🧠680 metres of elevation over simply 40.6km is severely climby, rewarding riders who can maintain excessive energy on lengthy drags and repeat it over a number of ramps. On a profile like that, there’s nobody higher outfitted than Tadej Pogačar (Slovenia). He’s on a degree of his personal this season, so until he has an off day, it’s exhausting to think about anybody outriding him right here.
❤️My coronary heart desires to see Remco Evenepoel (Belgium) win. Not simply because that is his speciality or as a result of he’s each the Olympic and defending world champion, however as a result of the 25-year-old lived by a lot drama this season. A crash in December derailed his winter, one other crash within the run-up to the Tour left him racing with accidents, after which, below the load of expectation, he cracked within the excessive mountains of the Tour de France and withdrew. He described that second as one among the rawest and most weak of his profession. All of the whereas, he wasn’t pleased at Soudal–QuickStep and the hearsay mill went into overdrive with switch gossip. All that was lastly settled in August, and he rebounded with a robust journey on the Tour of Britain. Nonetheless, it would be good to see him shut out such a turbulent yr on a excessive.
🃏This being such an atypical time trial, I’d be inclined to have a look at sturdy climbers who’re simply coming off a profitable Vuelta. Somebody like João Almeida (Portugal), together with his diesel climbing engine, or Jay Vine (Australia) together with his punch on steep ramps, may shock with a podium if the favourites misfire.
Simon Richardson
🧠Remco Evenepoel (Belgium). A few of his finest outcomes have been when driving for his nation, and the 25-year-old is a comparatively secure wager for his third TT gold medal. Forgetting for a second the mountain TT to Perygourde on the Tour, he has received all time trials he’s ridden this yr. And you realize he’ll have put the work in over the previous few weeks.
❤️Thymen Arensmen (Netherlands). It’s exhausting to get away from the truth that the lads’s TT is a two-horse race this yr. So this decide goes to somebody I’d wish to see take third (with the possibility of transferring up ought to one thing go fallacious for my different two picks). Arensmen’s rides, and post-ride response, on the Tour this yr endeared him to many, and in case you scroll again by his outcomes, he has some TT pedigree.
🃏Tadej Pogačar (Slovenia). It appears odd choosing Pog as a wild card for any bike race, however as he’s going for the street race, the TT is a bonus for him. This makes me query whether or not or not he’s put a lot time in on his TT bike within the final two months. On type, he can, and has, overwhelmed Evenepoel in opposition to the clock. When was the final time a rider did the double on the worlds?
Highway Race
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This yr’s 98th version guarantees a brutal check of climbing capacity, with the lads’s and girls’s street races packing in an unprecedented 5,475m (17,963’) and three,350m (10,990’) of elevation, respectively, over a sequence of attritional circuits round Kigali.
The ladies’s elite street race champion shall be…
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Anne-Marije Rook
🧠It’s exhausting to look previous Pauline Ferrand-Prévot. On the large mountains in France earlier this summer season, she seemed merely untouchable. Her timing was impeccable and her climbing tempo was unmatchable. She’s additionally a rider who is aware of learn how to rise to the event. The Française already holds 12 UCI elite World Championship titles throughout street, cyclocross, gravel and mountain bike disciplines, cementing her standing as essentially the most versatile rider of her technology. The opposite nations must make use of some intelligent workforce techniques to cease her from claiming a thirteenth.
❤️But my coronary heart wish to see a rider who has but to earn a Worlds title win: Elisa Longo Borghini. The Italian confirmed very good type along with her Giro efficiency, and the truth that sickness robbed us of a real showdown on the Tour de France Femmes makes her story really feel unfinished. Few riders struggle tougher within the decisive moments, and a rainbow jersey could be the last word reward for her grit and resilience.
🃏Demi Vollering (Netherlands) is hardly an outsider; she’s a downright race favorite. The Dutch have a prolific historical past at Worlds, and after the sting of a miss on the Tour de France Femmes, Vollering could possibly be further motivated to ship right here. She’s additionally bought a killer workforce behind her in former multi-time world champions Anna van der Breggen and Marianne Vos, in addition to Shirin van Anrooij and Pauliena Rooijakkers. The Dutch may effectively flip their collective energy into yet one more set of rainbow bands.
🧠Now, it might be straightforward to provide this to Demi Vollering (Netherlands), however why not go for the simple choice? The Dutch are usually so good on the World Championships, and after the frustration of lacking out on the Tour de France Femmes once more, why couldn’t the FDJ-SUEZ rider do higher in Rwanda. She has the Classics pedigree, and a strong workforce behind her.
❤️Think about the scenes if Kasia Niewiadoma received. After breaking her not-winning streak in unbelievable vogue final yr at La Flèche Wallonne after which backing it up on the Tour, the Pole has been a bit quiet since then. Her thirteenth look on the Worlds could possibly be fortunate.
🃏My wildcard? Cédrine Kerbaol. The Frenchwoman has attacking panache, and is the sort of rider who may simply get away, and make it stick. The circuits shall be complicated, and with out race radios, who is aware of what is going to occur. She’ll assault on a punchy climb, and solo to the end.
Simon Richardson
🧠Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (France). Her two wins on the street this yr show that Ferrand-Prévot is the grasp of rising to the large event. One thing she managed in MTB too, successful two Olympic titles in a self-discipline that requires extra solitary coaching than a busy race calendar. The course ought to favour her, and her cross-discipline expertise may imply she’s much less far out of her consolation zone than others.
❤️Kim Le Court docket Pinaar (Mauritius). An African winner at an African Worlds could be fairly particular. And it’s not past the realm. If she will be able to win Liège-Bastogne-Liège she will be able to win on this course, if issues go proper for her.
🃏Cèdrine Kerbaol (France). The French climber has had a strong yr, particularly on the Tour de France Femmes, the place she solely completed outdoors of the highest 20 on one stage. Fifth on the Basic Lorient on the finish of August suggests her type hasn’t tailed off towards the top of the season.
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The boys’s elite street race champion shall be…
🧠Tadej Pogačar (Slovenia) will win the street race. Why wouldn’t he? Who’s going to beat him? You may say he’s solely not received three races he was actually making an attempt to win this yr: Paris-Roubaix, Milan-San Remo and the Amstel Gold Race. Every part else he has touched has turned to gold, from the Tour of Flanders to the Tour de France. He’s the perfect rider on the planet.
❤️My coronary heart says Pogačar will win too, however for the sake of this piece, why can’t Ben Healy of Eire do it? He was within the type of his life on the Tour de France, and is the sort of Ardennes attacking rider that ought to do effectively in Kigali. It’s numerous climbing, a lot of climbing, however why not?
🃏The wildcard is Toms Skujiņš of Latvia, who all the time appears to show it on for the most important of events. Possibly it’s the fashion of racing, possibly it’s the love for his nation, however the 34-year-old completed within the prime 5 at each the Worlds and the Olympics final yr, and is a tricky cookie. Look out for him.
Anne-Marije Rook
🧠Who else? Tadej Pogačar, after all. The Slovenian is the clear favorite. Contemporary off one other blistering Tour de France marketing campaign, he’s proven time and again that he can dominate on lengthy climbs and nonetheless pack a devastating dash when it issues. On a course as attritional as Kigali, few riders can hope to match his mixture of endurance, explosiveness and tactical sense. He is the person to beat.
❤️I am with Adam Becket on this one: everybody would love a Ben Healy win. The Irishman is thought for his aggressive racing fashion and hail-mary assaults. When he goes, he goes all in, and the crowds love him for it. Healy has the climbing chops to get into the fitting transfer and the panache to take dangers others received’t. A rainbow jersey for him could be a kind of romantic biking moments the game lives for.
🃏For a wild card, I’m going with Juan Ayuso (Spain). Nonetheless solely 21, the Spaniard already has a Vuelta podium to his identify and the sort of climbing engine well-suited for this course. He could not but have the palmarès of Pogačar or Evenepoel, however his capacity to grind by lengthy, selective days makes him an actual risk if the favourites mark one another out. If he seizes the fitting second, Ayuso could possibly be one to observe.
Simon Richardson
🧠Tadej Pogačar (Slovenia). Is there anybody else? We’re on the stage now the place it’s exhausting to see how anybody can beat him in a race he’s concentrating on. Particularly over a tricky route. The one factor that might cease him is the truth that everybody else within the race shall be making an attempt to beat him. One thing that could be attainable when freed of professional workforce loyalties.
❤️Oscar Onley (Nice Britain). The fourth finest climber on the planet all through July, solely one of many three riders who outclimbed him throughout France is in Rwanda. The issue is, that’s Tadej Pogačar. Onley has zero one-day pedigree (he’s solely 22), however the world champs in a far-flung place is the sort of race the place unusual issues can occur.
🃏Mattias Skjelmose (Denmark). Simply 44 days of racing this yr, Skjelmose has had a strong finish to the yr since he deserted the Tour de France on stage 14. He was within the combine in each one-day races in Canada earlier this month, and, most significantly, he is likely one of the few riders on the planet who has gone up in opposition to Tadej Pogačar in a one-day race this yr and overwhelmed him.
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