Tadej Pogacar is once again the king of the rainbow jersey – and he did it in classic Pogacar style. A brutal, brilliant one-man show on the slopes of Mount Kigali sealed his second straight World Championship. The Slovenian made his move 100km out on the slopes of Mount Kigali, went clear with more than sixty kilometers still to ride and never looked back, leaving a shell-shocked peloton – and a very unlucky Remco Evenepoel – chasing shadows.
2025 World Championship Road Race: Kigali, Rwanda
The scene was Kigali, Rwanda – the first-ever African Worlds – and the course was nothing short of savage. 267.5 kilometers, 5,475 meters of climbing, and a finale packed with leg-breaking ramps: the Mount Kigali (5.9km at 6.9%), the cobbled Kimihurura, and the infamous Kigali Wall (400m at 11%). It was tailor-made for a champion, and Pogacar delivered.
The early action was chaotic, with Red Walters kicking things off for Grenada before a solid breakaway formed with Huising, Mayrhofer, Foldager, Oliveira, Christen, and Bernard. The French even tried to launch Julian Alaphilippe into the mix, but the two-time champ fizzled early. Behind, Belgium and Slovenia kept the leash short, with Florian Vermeersch and Domen Novak grinding out the tempo.
Drama hit at the halfway point: a high-speed crash took down Ilan Van Wilder and Marc Soler – both out. Belgium’s plan suddenly looked shakier, and Evenepoel lost a key ally.
Then came Mount Kigali. UAE stacked the front, and the pace split the field to ribbons. Pogacar’s first dig had Evenepoel clinging on, but when Isaac Del Toro rolled across and lit it up on the Wall of Kigali, the writing was on the stones. Ayuso cracked, Del Toro fought, and Pogacar soared. With 66 kilometers to go, he punched clear and settled into another one of his legendary long solos.
Evenepoel? It was a nightmare. Not once, but twice he had to swap bikes, losing precious minutes. At one point he was flailing, hammering his bars in frustration. But Remco being Remco, he clawed his way back into the chase, dragged a group into some kind of order, and still had enough to distance everyone but Pogacar.
By the bell lap, it was done. Pogacar was flying solo, his rainbow dream already a reality. Behind, Evenepoel emptied himself to lock down silver – salvaging a rainbow weekend after his ITT gold – while Ben Healy, the feisty Irishman, snatched bronze from Mattias Skjelmose.
And so, Pogacar joins an elite club: Ronsse, Van Steenbergen, Van Looy, Bugno, Bettini, and Alaphilippe – all double World Champions in back-to-back years. Kigali will be remembered for many things – the passion of the fans, the grit of the course – but above all, for another majestic Pogacar masterpiece.
Results 2025 92nd World Championships ME – Road Race (WC)
One day race » Kigali › Kigali (267.5km) – Courtesy of ProCyclingStats.com
Note: Only 30 riders finished the race- here is the full list.
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