Preview World Championships Time Trial 2025 | Pogacar wants to stop Evenepoel from taking 3 in a row
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Follow us on GoogleThe 2025 UCI Road World Championships for elite riders kicks off Sunday with the men’s and women’s time trials. For the men, the riders will tackle a 40.6-kilometer course in and around Kigali, where a successor to Remco Evenepoel will be sought, something IDLProCycling.com explores further in this article.
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Evenepoel took the title last year in Zurich, Switzerland, after also winning the year before in Stirling, Scotland. The Belgian then held off Filippo Ganna and Edoardo Affini of the Italian Azzurri. Ganna had already won the world title in 2020 and 2021, while Tobias Foss surprised everyone by becoming world champion in 2022.
Other big names on the recent honor roll include Rohan Dennis, Tony Martin, Bradley Wiggins, and Fabian Cancellara. The last Dutch winner, of course, was Tom Dumoulin, who claimed the rainbow jersey in Bergen, Norway, in 2017.
Practical information men's World Championships Time Trial 2025
- Sunday, Sept. 21, Kigali (Rwanda)
- Participants (follows when the list is final)
- Classification: WC
In this article
- Most recent winners
- Course, weather and times
- Favorites
- TV coverage information
Most recent winners men's World Time Trial Championships
2024 Remco Evenepoel
2023 Remco Evenepoel
2022 Tobias Foss
2021 Filippo Ganna
2020 Filippo Ganna
2019 Rohan Dennis
2018 Rohan Dennis
2017 Tom Dumoulin
2016 Tony Martin
2015 Vasil Kiryienka
2023 Remco Evenepoel
2022 Tobias Foss
2021 Filippo Ganna
2020 Filippo Ganna
2019 Rohan Dennis
2018 Rohan Dennis
2017 Tom Dumoulin
2016 Tony Martin
2015 Vasil Kiryienka
World men's time trial championship 2025: Course, weather and times
On Sunday, the elite men face a 40.6-kilometer route with around 680 meters of elevation gain. The start is at the BK Arena, the largest indoor stadium in East Africa. The first eight kilometers serve as a warm-up, being relatively flat.
Then comes the Côte de Nyanza, a 2.5-kilometer climb at 5.8%, providing the first real test for the climbers’ legs. After a descent, this climb must be tackled again from the other side: 6.6 kilometers long at an average gradient of 3.5%
Both summits also serve as intermediate checkpoints and following a seven-kilometer descent (31.6 kilometers covered in total), a third checkpoint appears. Then it’s on to the Côte de Péage, a 2-kilometer climb at 6.0% average.
This comes right before the final obstacle of the day: the Côte de Kimihurura. This climb is 1.3 kilometers at 6.3% and is also paved with African cobblestones. After a short breather, the final kilometer also rises at 4%, before the finish line, like in all the races, is drawn at the Kigali Convention Centre.
Continue reading below...
Weather
It looks like the riders won’t have to complain about the conditions on Sunday. Temperatures of 26°C are expected in Kigali, with virtually no chance of rain and only light winds.
Times
Start: 1:45 PM (first rider)
Finish: 4:50 PM (last rider)
Start: 1:45 PM (first rider)
Finish: 4:50 PM (last rider)
Favorites World Championships Time Trial men 2025
The list of participants is not yet official, so this section may still be subject to change.
No Filippo Ganna in Rwanda, and that alone says a lot about the nature of the course that has been put together. With a total of 680 meters of climbing over just forty kilometers, pure specialists like the Italian have judged their chances too slim, making the trip to Rwanda not worthwhile.
Top favorite is Remco Evenepoel, who already delivered the rainbow jersey to Belgium in both 2023 and 2024 in Scotland and Switzerland. The Belgian hasn’t ridden any time trials in the run-up to these Worlds, but his position on the TT bike is practically second nature, so no problems are expected there on Sunday. Ilan Van Wilder and Florian Vermeersch are the other Belgian participants.
Tadej Pogacar will also be there, representing Slovenia, something that doesn’t happen too often. When he lined up against the clock at Worlds, like in 2023, things didn’t go especially well for him. Still, the hilly African circuit offers him a real chance of success.
Behind them, attention quickly shifts to the Aussies, who bring Jay Vine and Luke Plapp, two true “all-or-nothing” riders. Both have been targeting these Worlds for a long time and, on a good day, could get close to Evenepoel, just as Vine did against Ganna in the recent Vuelta time trial. But they could just as easily crash out on one of the descents. Magnus Sheffield, representing the USA, belongs to the same high-risk, high-reward category.
For the Netherlands, the hope is on Thymen Arensman, whose diesel engine should suit this course. However, Arensman tore a glute muscle in his last race, the Tour of Britain, so it remains to be seen how far he can get.
With Ganna absent, the Italians start with Matteo Sobrero and Mattia Cattaneo, while Switzerland lines up Stefan Küng and Mauro Schmid. France brings time trial specialist Bruno Armirail and top talent Paul Seixas, the reigning junior world champion in the discipline. Iván Romeo (Spain) and Maximilian Schachmann (Germany) are also making the trip from Europe.
According to IDLProCycling.com, who are the favorites for the men's 2025 World Time Trial Championships?
Top favorites: Remco Evenepoel (Belgium) and Jay Vine (Australia)
Outsiders: Tadej Pogacar (Australia), Luke Plapp (Australia) and Thymen Arensman (Netherlands)
Long shots: Matteo Sobrero, Mattia Cattaneo (Italy), Ilan Van Wilder (Belgium), Magnus Sheffield (United States), Stefan Küng, (Switzerland), Ivan Romeo (Spain), Paul Seixas and Bruno Armirail (France)
Outsiders: Tadej Pogacar (Australia), Luke Plapp (Australia) and Thymen Arensman (Netherlands)
Long shots: Matteo Sobrero, Mattia Cattaneo (Italy), Ilan Van Wilder (Belgium), Magnus Sheffield (United States), Stefan Küng, (Switzerland), Ivan Romeo (Spain), Paul Seixas and Bruno Armirail (France)
TV coverage World time trial championships men 2025
The men start after the women, at 1:45 p.m. 10 minutes before the start, you can turn to Sporza (VRT1), Eurosport 1, NPO 1 and HBO Max for live footage.
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Latest Comments
- I’m still learning the calendar: is cyclocross mainly preparation for the spring classics, or does he race it as a separate goal as well? I’d love to see him back in the mud.jeremya04-11-2026
- The article makes it sound as if Roubaix is the only classic where he has a realistic shot. He’s been close in Flanders too, and one good tactical day can change everything.jennifer1904-11-2026
- Milan-Sanremo and Roubaix is a pretty special pair of Monuments. Any clues yet on which cyclocross races he’ll target?andrewf04-11-2026
- He’s right to be realistic about Flanders with Pogačar and Evenepoel around, but you can’t count Van Aert out on those roads. If he gets the right opportunity, he has the engine and experience to take it.davidm04-11-2026
- That Roubaix win felt like such a release after all the near-misses. Brilliant to hear that joy outweighed relief for Wout.patriciaw04-11-2026
- Why would a mountain time trial be different from a normal one? Is it just that the riders have to climb the whole course?samanthak03-11-2026
- I don’t quite buy the “fear of failure” argument. Riders can race the Giro and still have confidence in July; it comes down to recovery and planning, doesn’t it?patriciaw03-11-2026
- The Giro-Tour double is a massive ask, even for the very best. Pogačar made it look almost routine in 2024, but that’s hardly a sensible benchmark for everyone else!pedalpowe2903-11-2026
- Bakelants makes a fair point: if the 2027 Tour really suits Remco, he can’t afford to dilute the build-up. That 37km flat TT will be tempting, mind.julien03-11-2026
- Mont Blanc sounds like a spectacular finish, though four climbs on the final day might be a bit much after eight hard stages. Hope the route details are clear soon.raceready703-11-2026