Tadej Pogačar took a repeat win in the UCI Road World Championships, ensuring that UAE Team Emirates-XRG will have the rainbow jersey for another year. The Slovenian went alone with 66km to go, and would not be caught before the line.
Hosted in Kigali, Rwanda, the 2025 Road Race drew impressive crowds and the finishing ciruit only enhanced the spectacle. With tough climbs, cobbles to be dealt with, and the sport’s most hallowed prize up for grabs, the racing lived up to all expectations.
Pogačar put his opponents under immense pressure with over 100km to go, with only his trade teammates Isaac del Toro and Juan Ayuso able to hack the pace. The three riders powered away from the peloton and showed their class on Kigali’s defining climb.
Ayuso was the first to cede ground, as Del Toro pushed on, and for a while, it looked as though the Mexican would head towards the race finish alongside Pogačar. Teammates for the rest of the year, Pogačar and Del Toro tested each other for the next 30km before the reigning world champion broke the elastic.
Alone at the front of the race with 66km to ride, the Slovenian extended his advantage to those behind to over a minute, as his opponents began to battle for the silver and bronze medals.
In the end, Pogačar crossed the finish line a minute and a half ahead of the second-placed Remco Evenepoel (Belgium) and over two minutes ahead of Ben Healy (Ireland) in third. The trio stood on the podium at the end of the day as Pogačar pulled on the rainbow jersey.
Speaking after the finish, the two-time world champion explained his racing tactics and reflected on his second success.
Pogačar: “I think the parcours was designed for this, but I was hoping that a small group would form like we did with Juan and Del Toro. It was the perfect combo and it was like a dream to ride together as far as possible as a trio.
“Juan had a rpoblem quite soon on the cobbles and Del Toro had stomach problems in the race, so I was left alone quite early. I was solo like last year, just fighting with myself, but I am so happy I made it.
“The climbs were getting harder and harder every lap, and also on the downhills you still had to pedal quite a lot so the energy resources were getting towards the end. It was so hard the final few laps, and of course you doubt a bit, but you have to push through and hope for the best.
“It was an incredible experience altogether and let’s say it was a successful week in Rwanda.”
Earlier in the day, Pogačar’s UAE Team Emirates-XRG teammate Ivo Oliveirawas in the breakaway for Portugal. As the racing became attritional, Oliveira proved one of the strongest riders out front, and was only caught once Pogačar’s accelerations tore the peloton apart.
The first acceleration came after Team Belgium had done much of the pace-setting with UAE Team Emirates-XRG’s Florian Vermeersch. With 104km to go, Pogačar launched his move from the pack, and Ayuso jumped to catch the Slovenian’s wheel.
A further 2km later, Del Toro was the only rider able to bridge up to the pair, and all of a sudden, the three strongest riders in the race appeared to come from UAE Team Emirates-XRG.
Ayuso was put into difficulty by Del Toro on the Kwa Mutwe (Mur de Kigali), before the Mexican was equally forced to relent by Pogačar later in the afternoon. One by one, a selection had been made on the roads of Rwanda, and Pogačar proved more than capable of defending his world title.
His winning attack came 66km from the finish, but both Del Toro and Ayuso continued to battle on. The pair finished seventh and eighth, respectively, at the end of the race.
Having turned 27 a week ago, Pogačar now moves to 105 career victories. The Slovenian is a two-time world champion and will wear the iconic rainbow jersey for another year.
Evenepoel Rides to Silver
Remco Evenepoel became the first male rider to be on the podium of both the road race and the time trial at a single edition of the World Championships multiple times, repeating his feat of 2022, when the event was held in Australia. The 25-year-old was one of the strongest riders of the 267.5km race, which featured 5500 meters of elevation, and after more than six hours of relentless racing, he finished in second place, behind Tadej Pogacar (Slovenia), who retained his title.
Of the 35 climbs on the course, Mont Kigali (5.9km, 6.9%), which came with 104 kilometers to go, ended up playing a huge role in the outcome, as it was there that the reigning champion pushed a hard tempo that shredded the peloton to pieces and left only a trio of riders in the lead. Evenepoel found himself in the third group, but thanks to a fantastic effort of his Soudal Quick-Step teammate Louis Vervaeke, he made it back to the peloton, which at that moment was trailing the leaders by 45 seconds.
Unfortunately for the Belgian, he had to change his bike in an important moment of the race, and by the time he got back in the saddle, he found himself almost two minutes behind. Not the one to give up, Evenepoel staged a phenomenal comeback using his time trial skills, caught the various groups in front of him and then moved to the front of what remained of the peloton, sparking an important selection.
Only four riders were capable of joining the three-time ITT World Champion, who motored at the front of this group, doing most of the work and helping the quintet open an important gap on those trailing them. The tempo pushed by Evenepoel led to two riders being spat out the back, leaving only three men in contention for the last two podium spots. With 20 kilometers to go, Remco bolted away from his companions and quickly put some daylight into them, riding to a hard-fought and well-deserved silver medal in Rwanda, after a huge display of sheer grit and determination.
“I wanted to win today and I felt great from the start of the race, but things didn’t go as planned today. My teammates did a great job and silver is still a good result at the end of the day after the gold medal I took in the time trial a week ago, but there is a sense of disappointment. On the other hand, I have a couple of races left in the program before I conclude the season, including the European Championships, and I’m ready to give my best”, Remco said after the podium ceremony.
UCI World Championships Road Race results:
- Tadej Pogačar (Slovenia) 6:21:20
- Remco Evenepoel (Belgium) +1:28
- Ben Healy (Ireland) +2:16
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