Future stars kick off the World Championships Road Races in Kigali

We haven't seen many World Championships as well-organized as this one. Whereas in other years a different starting location and accompanying run-up are often chosen, in 2025, we will be racing at the World Championships solely on a local circuit of 13.6 kilometers. Only the elite men will still be looking for a middle loop with Mount Kigali.

The local 15.1-kilometer circuit will therefore be central to all junior and U23 races. The Côte de Kimihurura (1.3 kilometers at 6.3 percent) and Côte de Kigali Golf (800 meters at 8.1 percent) will be the decisive climbs in that loop. “It's a difficult circuit,” Dutch national coach Koos Moerenhout confided to us after his reconnaissance.

“There is a difficult 800-meter climb that starts from a golf course. Then there is another climb over cobblestones. In that section, there is no climb that you would say a classic rider cannot survive, but it is mainly the combination and the rapid succession of climbs.” Additionally, the last four kilometers are all uphill, and the race will be held at an altitude, in the heat, and with poor air quality.

On Thursday, the U23 women will be the first to complete their road race. As is well known, the Netherlands has not sent any riders in this category, while the Belgians also suffered a last-minute setback with the withdrawal of Fleur Moors due to illness. They are counting mainly on Xaydee Van Sinaey and Lore De Schepper.

It will be interesting to see which riders emerge as the top performers on the challenging course in Kigali. Great Britain has two top talents in reigning junior champion Cat Ferguson and Imogen Wolff, but they are more suited to classic races.

On the other hand, we also see the Holmgren sisters, of whom Isabella recently won the Tour de l'Avenir, on the start list. The same applies to a strong French team, featuring climbers such as Marion Bunel, Celia Gery, and Julie Bego. Viktoria Chladonova, who finished second in the World Championships against the clock, is also excellent on the climbs. The same is true of Talia Appleton (Australia), Eleonora Ciabocco (Italy), and Paula Blasi (Spain).

Times
Start: 1:05 PM
Finish: 4:30 PM

Friday is the day when both the junior men and the U23 men will be in action. World time trial champion Michiel Mouris and co will have to get up early, as their start is scheduled for 8:00 AM. An additional advantage is that the heat and sun intensity will be somewhat milder in Kigali at that time.

In addition to Mouris, the Netherlands will be represented by Gijs Schoonvelde, who did not have an ideal run-up, and Daan Dijkman. The Belgians are also fielding a strong team, including bronze medalist Seff Van Kerckhove, Thor Michielsen, Mats Vanden Eynde, and Edouard Claisse.

Other strong riders include Ashlin Barry, Beckam Drake, Enzo Hincapie (United States), Benjamin Noval (Spain), Mortiz Maus, Karl Herzog, Benedikt Benz (Germany), Georgs Tjumins (Latvia), Vilgot Reinhold (Sweden), Jan Michal Jackowiak (Poland), Max Hinds (Great Britain), Théopile Vassal, Johan Blanc (France), Roberto Capello, Giacomo Rosato (Italy), and Anatol Friedl from Austria.

Times
Start: 08.00 AM
Finish: 11:15 AM

Three-quarters of an hour after the juniors finish, the U23 men will start their World Championships, which is already 164.6 kilometers long and includes 3,350 meters of climbing. The Netherlands will not be participating here either, while the Belgians have Jarno Widar, the top favorite, in their ranks. The top talent stayed on as a continental rider for an extra year, especially for these World Championships in Rwanda.

Widar will have to compete against several men whom we are likely to hear a lot about in the coming years. The Italians Lorenzo Finn and Simone Gualdi, for example, or the Spaniards Héctor Álvarez and Adrià Percià. France also has contenders in Maxime Decomble and Antoine l'Hote, so the traditional cycling countries all have a chance.

On the other hand, there are riders such as Jakob Omrzel (Slovenia), Mateo Ramirez (Ecuador), Callum Thornley (Great Britain), Pavel Novak (Czech Republic), Matthias Schwarzbacher (Slovakia), Max Bock (Germany), and the strong time trialist Nate Pringle from New Zealand, who performed well earlier this week.

Times
Start: 12:00 p.m.
Finish: 4:25 p.m.

Before the elite riders take to the road on Saturday afternoon, the junior women will compete early in the Rwandan morning. From a Dutch perspective, all eyes will naturally be on Megan Arens. “It's going to be a tough race, with nothing but ups and downs. In principle, it should be a good course for me, but for now I'm not going to predict a specific result,” she said after her time trial. The other Dutch women are Roos Müller and Mirthe Mons.

Arens will face some of the same competitors as on Tuesday, namely Paula Ostiz (Spain), Oda Aune Gissinger (Norway), Sydney Swierenga (Poland), Abigail Miller, Erin Boothamn (United Kingdom), and Maria Okrucinska (Poland). Representing Belgium are Sanne Laurijssen, Laura Five, and Auke De Buysser.

We may also be surprised by riders such as Antoinie Cermanova (Czech Republic), Thais Porier (France), Chantal Pegolo (Italy), Anja Grossman (Switzerland), and Eirini Papadimitriou (Greece), and there are undoubtedly others! In any case, all these youth races are usually worth watching from the start!

Times
Start: 8:20 AM
Finish: 10:40 AM