Kigali Calling: The Most Brutal World Championships Ever?

By Zach Nehr

The 2025 UCI Road Race World Championships in Rwanda mark a historic milestone as the first-ever held on African soil—and they promise to be among the most challenging in history. With a base altitude of 1,493 meters in the capital city of Kigali, riders must be well-acclimated to elevation to perform at their best. While the course doesn’t feature a single major climb, the hills are relentless. Over the 267.5-kilometer parcours, riders will face approximately 6,000 meters of elevation gain.

Countless climbs, extreme difficulty, and high altitude? Sounds like the perfect parcours for Tadej Pogačar.

The defending World Champion is the clear favorite in Kigali. But as we saw in this year’s Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec (where he finished 29th), winning won’t be easy. No rider will be more heavily marked than Pogačar, who has gone all-in on training for the World Championships since claiming his fourth Tour de France title in July.

Other top contenders include former World Champion Remco Evenepoel, in addition to Isaac Del Torro, Tadej’s own UAE teammate, but the question remains: can anyone stop Tadej from winning his second consecutive rainbow jersey?

The Men’s Elite Road Race takes place on Sunday, September 28th in Kigali, Rwanda. It’s the final event of the UCI Road World Championships, following the Men’s Elite Time Trial (September 21st) and the Women’s Elite Road Race (September 27th). If you’re looking for clues on how the men’s race might unfold, be sure to watch the women’s race the day before.

This year’s time trial is unique. The 40.6km route includes 680 meters of elevation gain and features four climbs—including the Côte de Peage and the cobbled Côte de Kimihurura, both of which also appear in the road race. It’s a technical and hilly course, offering a perfect preview of the riders’ form and equipment choices.

Both Pogačar and Evenepoel will compete in the time trial, giving fans an early look at their head-to-head form, something we haven’t seen since Stage 13 of this year’s Tour de France. Expect to see Tadej using the ENVE disc rear wheel, 100mm-deep front wheel, and one-piece aero bars, which have been designed in collaboration with the UAE team and will soon be available to everyone. 

This year’s route is arguably one of the toughest ever designed for a World Championship. The 267.5km course is packed with twists, turns, and climbs, with barely a kilometer of flat road.

The race is divided into two parts: the local circuits and the extension circuit. Riders will complete nine laps of the local circuit, one lap of the extension circuit, and then six final laps of the local circuit.

The local circuit is 15.1km long and features two short climbs: Côte de Kigali Golf (0.8km at 8.1%) and the cobbled Côte de Kimihurura (1.3km at 6.3%). The latter could be decisive, especially after 15 repetitions. Equipment choice will be critical.

Pogačar will have full access to ENVE’s SES line of wheels, choosing between the lightweight SES 2.3, versatile SES 3.4, or aero-optimized SES 4.5. Given the short, punchy climbs and high-speed nature of the course, he’ll undoubtedly opt for the recently released SES 4.5 PRO that is tailored to provide aero efficiency while achieving the weight of a pure climbing wheel. 

After nine laps of the local circuit, the peloton heads out for one lap of the extension circuit. The 42.5km loop begins with the Côte de Peage and culminates in the climb of Mont Kigali—5.9km at an average gradient of 6.9%. But don’t be fooled by the numbers. Mont Kigali is a stair-step climb, with steep ramps broken up by short flats. The final kilometer averages over 14%, offering a launchpad for climbers.

Topping out 104km from the finish, Mont Kigali might seem too early for a decisive move, but remember, Pogačar attacked with 101km to go in last year’s Worlds. Anything is possible.

To estimate climbing performance, we use VAM (vertical ascent in meters per hour). World-class VAM is >1,800 Vm/h, especially on longer climbs at altitude.

Mont Kigali – Estimated Stats:

• Time: 13–14 minutes

• VAM: 1,800–1,900 Vm/h

The overall VAM on Mont Kigali might not be record-breaking due to its mid-climb plateaus, but expect attacks on the steepest gradients. If Mont Kigali isn’t challenging enough, riders will face the cobbled Mur de Kigali (0.4 km at 11%) just 4 km later. From there, a few kilometers of descending lead back into the capital for six more local circuits.

After 252 km of racing, the riders will begin their final lap of the World Championships. If the peloton hasn’t shattered by then, it almost certainly will on the final climbs. The finish line comes just after the crest of the Côte de Kimihurura, meaning that if a punchy sprinter can hang on, they’ll have a real shot at winning a high-speed sprint in Kigali.

With so much climbing on offer, expect to see Tadej opting for the new category of aero-climbing wheels that ENVE developed with the introduction of the SES 4.5 PRO. 

This year’s Road World Championships could go down as one of the most brutal races in history. That’s what they said about Yorkshire, and again about Zürich. But Kigali’s route features at least 25% more climbing than either of those editions, and neither of those cities sits at 1,450 meters above sea level.

Tadej is the favorite, but he’ll need to fend off attacks from some of the world’s best. Remco Evenepoel, a double Olympic Champion, is well-suited to a punchy course like this. Isaac Del Toro is the man in form, with four wins in the past three weeks.

Tom Pidcock is coming off the best Grand Tour performance of his career, finishing third at the Vuelta a España. Other riders to watch include Quinn Simmons, Michael Matthews, Mattias Skjelmose, Julian Alaphilippe, and Juan Ayuso.

Tadej is a rider who thrives on setting records. He’s already won the Tour de France, Ronde van Vlaanderen, Liège-Bastogne-Liège, Strade Bianche, La Flèche Wallonne, and Critérium du Dauphiné this year. Now, he’s aiming for two World Championship titles. He’s undoubtedly the Road Race favorite, but could he also win the time trial and become a double World Champion? When Tadej Pogačar is on the start line, anything is possible.