Preview World Cycling Championship - elite men 2025 | Pogacar, Evenepoel or one of the outsiders after all?!
CyclingMonday, 22 September 2025 at 16:07
The main course of the World Cycling Championships is traditionally served on the last Sunday, and 2025 in Rwanda will be no different. The riders will face a grueling course in Central Africa, which IDLProCycling.com and all other cycling fans are eagerly awaiting!
To win a World Championship, you must obviously be among the world's best. The recent list of winners of the global title race proves this. Over the past ten years, we have seen Peter Sagan, Alejandro Valverde, Mads Pedersen, Julian Alaphilippe twice, Remco Evenepoel, Mathieu van der Poel, and last year, Tadej Pogacar triumph three times. What a list!
The Slovenian made a remarkably early breakaway in Zurich in 2024 and ultimately just managed to hold off the chasing group at the finish. Van der Poel, who will not be competing in Rwanda, took bronze for the Netherlands, while silver went to Australian Ben O'Connor, who will also not be competing.
Practical information World Cycling Championship men 2025
- Sunday, Sept. 28, Kigali (Rwanda)
- Participants
- Classification: World Championships
In this article
- Latest winners
- Parcous, weather and times
- Favorites
- TV information
Latest winners World Cycling Championship men
2024 Tadej Pogacar
2023 Mathieu van der Poel
2022 Remco Evenepoel
2021 Julian Alaphilippe
2020 Julian Alaphilippe
2019 Mads Pedersen
2018 Alejandro Valverde
2017 Peter Sagan
2016 Peter Sagan
2015 Peter Sagan
2023 Mathieu van der Poel
2022 Remco Evenepoel
2021 Julian Alaphilippe
2020 Julian Alaphilippe
2019 Mads Pedersen
2018 Alejandro Valverde
2017 Peter Sagan
2016 Peter Sagan
2015 Peter Sagan
World Cycling Championship men 2025: Course, weather and times
The road race for the elite men starts at 9:20 AM for good reason, because with 267.5 kilometers and no less than 5,475 (!) meters of climbing, the riders will not finish until around 4:35 PM, and an hour later, it will already be dark in Rwanda at this time of year. The start and finish are planned in Kigali, with Mont Kigali (5.9 kilometers at 5.6 percent) as the decisive climb in the middle of the race.
However, a local circuit of 13.6 kilometers will make up the majority of the 2025 World Championships. The 15.1-kilometer lap will first be completed nine times and then six more times in the final after the middle loop. The Côte de Kimihurura (1.3 kilometers at 6.3 percent) and Côte de Kigali Golf (800 meters at 8.1 percent) are the decisive climbs in that loop.
In the long middle loop, in addition to Mont Kigali, we will also tackle the Côte de Péage (1.8 kilometers at 5.9 percent) and the Wall of Kigali (400 meters at 11.0 percent), which is iconic for many cycling fans.
Continue reading below the photo!
Dutch national coach Koos Moerenhout went to check it out at the end of last year and already gave us his report. “The roads are good. It's a compact World Championship, but on a difficult course. There is a challenging 800-meter climb that begins at a golf course. Then there is another climb over cobblestones. In that section, there is no climb that you would say a classic rider couldn't survive, but it's mainly the combination and the rapid succession of climbs.”
"There is also an extension loop, with an arduous six-kilometer climb. That includes the Wall of Kigali, which will produce some fantastic images on those cobblestones," said Moerenhout, who couldn't immediately name a European race with a similar course. “I find it difficult to make a comparison, especially with that tough climb in the course. It gives the race a completely different character, because the peloton can be split up there.”
“Ultimately, you end up with more than five thousand meters of elevation gain, and that always has an impact. That's a thousand more than in Zurich, but ultimately, the riders make the race. Although the climbers obviously have the advantage,” Moerenhout knows all too well.
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Weather
The weather in Kigali has been the same all week and will remain so on Sunday: 27 degrees Celsius, with occasional sunshine and little chance of precipitation. The wind will also play virtually no role.
The weather in Kigali has been the same all week and will remain so on Sunday: 27 degrees Celsius, with occasional sunshine and little chance of precipitation. The wind will also play virtually no role.
Times
Start: 09:20 AM local time
Finish: 4:35 PM local time
Start: 09:20 AM local time
Finish: 4:35 PM local time
Favorites World Cycling Championship men 2025
The list of participants is not yet official, so this section is subject to change.
In the months leading up to this World Championship, there were already suggestions that this edition could be the most boring World Championship in years. Why? Tadej Pogacar! The star of the cycling peloton took the victory in Zurich last year and was subsequently noted down for Kigali (2025), Montreal (2026), and Sallanches (2027). Until last Sunday...
That's when the Slovenian from UAE Emirates-XRG was overtaken, literally and figuratively. Remco Evenepoel, who started after him in the World Championship time trial, caught up with Pogacar in his pursuit of the world time trial title, which also created an extra week of suspense for next Sunday's road race. “If I had to compare it to a race, I would choose the Amstel Gold Race. And I did pretty well there this year,” said the Belgian after the race.
Continue reading below the photo!
In South Limburg in April, there was indeed a duel between Evenepoel and Pogacar, but in the end, an outsider ran off with the leg in the person of Mattias Skjelmose. In the absence of his compatriots Jonas Vingegaard and Mads Pedersen, the Dane is also there with possible medal ambitions.
But there are certainly others. What about Isaac del Toro, the barely 21-year-old Mexican who has already scored thirteen professional victories this season? Former Olympic champion Richard Carapaz is also present on behalf of Ecuador, and we know from his performance at Tokyo 2021 that he can cope with high humidity and has his roots at altitude. The same goes for Colombian Egan Bernal.
Riders who live in Andorra, which is also located at an altitude of 1,500 meters, know how to deal with these conditions. Representing the United Kingdom, Tom Pidcock and Oscar Onley are seeking additional success after their strong performances this year. At the same time, the Irish have Ben Healy, a former one-day racer who has had his sights set on this World Championship for months.
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The Australians will have to do without 2024 silver medalist Ben O'Connor, but they still have options with Jay Vine, Michael Storer, Jai Hindley, and, to a lesser extent, Michael Matthews, who also won silver. Former cycling nations Italy, Spain, and France belong to the same category, with riders such as Giulio Ciccone, Giulio Pellizzari, Juan Ayuso, Paul Seixas, Pavel Sivakov, and Julian Alaphilippe.
Championship riders always come to the fore at a World Championship, and we can add Lidl-Trek alumni Quinn Simmons (United States) and Toms Skujins (Latvia) to that list: riders who are indestructible. The same goes for Primoz Roglic, who on Sunday could suddenly be in contention for the title.
Among the Dutch riders, we don't immediately see an absolute favorite for a medal, but we know that Thymen Arensman and certainly Bauke Mollema can go far on a challenging course on a good day. In the Belgian camp, all eyes are on Evenepoel, with Cian Uijtdebroeks and Ilan Van Wilder, among others, serving as the time trial champion.
Who are the favorites for the 2025 World Cycling Championship men, according to IDLProCycling.com?
Top favorites: Remco Evenepoel (Belgium) and Tadej Pogacar (Slovenia)
Outsiders: Isaac del Toro (Mexico), Richard Carapaz (Ecuador), Tom Pidcock (Great Britain) and Ben Healy (Ireland)
Long shots: Mattias Skjelmose (Denmark), Giulio Ciccone (Italy), Primoz Roglic (Slovenia), Quinn Simmons (United States), Egan Bernal (Colombia), Jay Vine, Michael Storer (Australia), Toms Skujins (Latvia), Oscar Onley (Great Britain) and Juan Ayuso (Spain)
Outsiders: Isaac del Toro (Mexico), Richard Carapaz (Ecuador), Tom Pidcock (Great Britain) and Ben Healy (Ireland)
Long shots: Mattias Skjelmose (Denmark), Giulio Ciccone (Italy), Primoz Roglic (Slovenia), Quinn Simmons (United States), Egan Bernal (Colombia), Jay Vine, Michael Storer (Australia), Toms Skujins (Latvia), Oscar Onley (Great Britain) and Juan Ayuso (Spain)
TV broadcast World Cycling Championship Men 2025
Anyone who wants to watch cycling all day on Sunday will have that option. Sporza will be there on VRT 1 from 9:20 AM, while Eurosport will start broadcasting at 9:30 AM on its main channel and HBO Max. NOS will also be broadcasting on NOS.nl from that time, while NPO 1 will switch to Studio Sport's afternoon programming at around 1:10 PM.
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Latest Comments
- Agreed! As we all know now, Juan Ayuso will be on another team. But it was sweet to see him win the stages at La Vuelta. I do love the drama of cycling admittedly but its clear to see the talent of winners of stages in a Grand Tourryhw2814fq921-09-2025
- Pogacar has no competition he has won everything, I cant imagine even being him in that position!! Crazy. I am sure he has some back up plan for how he wants to spend his retirement years at age 30 onward. Does he like beer? Plenty of innovation in brewing. And you don't have to be super social. Chapeau/Cheers whatever you like Tadej you will do.ryhw2814fq921-09-2025
- Plus its confirmed that the Philadelphia Cycling Classic up the Manayunk Wall is back for 2026! hooray for thatryhw2814fq918-09-2025
- This is a dumb question but still why doesn't the UCI consider a grand tour in the USA in the future. We have the desolate/scary back roads in Pennsylvania and Virginia, just like in France with loads of rural land and hills. Plus the Rocky Mountains in Colorado and the Cascade/Olympic Mountains in Washington State. I'm sure it'll never happen but honestly people in PA/NJ/NY/VT/NH would love it. We are already sports fans, what is another sport to learn. I am forever optimistic about cycling in the US.ryhw2814fq918-09-2025
- Zonneveld makes some excellent points.The sponsorship model is broken and companies like Verizon who have multi billion dollar with a B ad budgets need to be involved again.
Brucegel17-09-2025 - Roger Vlaeminck says Mads is not a good rider? Where is the headline saying you don't even have to be a good rider to win the World Road Championship says Roger Vlaeminck, who never won it!!? Perhaps his aging mind needs to think about what the heck he's saying.packfiller7103-09-2025
- Wow, there is so much criticism of the UAE XRG riders. Why so much criticism is being leveled solely at the riders is baffling. The UAE XRG management deserves a good amount of the criticism aimed at the team, as a whole. They have not managed the talent they have at all. They failed miserably to properly handle young Isaac del Toro on that penultimate day of the Giro. And they have not handled Juan Ayuso well either. If they didn't have Tadej Pogacar in their roster, we might not be talking about them as winners, at all. So many think that Ayuso has shown that he is not a "team" player at all. Does anybody think that he might be thinking about his own future at this point? That he might want to feel like the team has his back, when they load the pressure onto him? And Joao is not a team leader. That burden might be laid on him by the management, but they need to properly support that assignment, not make it a contentious situation, within the team. And then how management has conducted themselves throughout this parting of ways between themselves and Ayuso has been totally indiscreet. And yet people want to pile onto Ayuso when he tells the truth about the manner that this is all soap opera is developing. He wants out. He shouldn't be getting so much negative criticism for that. It's a situation that has soured. Yes he has a contract, but he is not the first, nor will he be the last that wants to get out of a relationship that just isn't working anymore. And DeCauwer seems to have very vague reasons for criticizing Almeida. He does realize that Jonas is the second best Grand Tour rider of this current generation, so it should be no shame that Joao is behind him in the standings. Riders are giving their all in an extremely difficult sport that stretches them, often beyond their limits. Now many are wanting to send them to Behavioral School as well? The criticism ought to mellow out, or it ought to simply be ignored, as nothing more than blah, blah, blah, not worth the headlines it gets
reemmo002-09-2025 - In 5yrs, Pogi will be a top Twitch streamer living on baked goods while Urska is still racing.Veganpotter11-08-2025
- All they learned is that at the end of a 3 week race, Wout can beat him on a slightly bumpy stage. Obviously, this is very much thanks to Wout not racing for GC every day. This doesn't teach them a thing for Jonas beating Pogi. Not saying Jonas will never beat him again. But this absolutely won't have anything to do with it if he does beat him.Veganpotter28-07-2025
- Well, he eventually Pogacar pays the price for his insane spring campaign which was really crazyRosenkohl196125-07-2025
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