ANALYSIS | The 5 men who could beat Tadej Pogacar at the Kigali World Championships

The Kigali 2025 World Championships started for Tadej Pogacar in the hardest possible way. The Slovenian participated in the Elite Men's Time Trial where he was beaten by Remco Evenepoel comfortably, overtaken by the Belgian and even left out of the podium in the event. This opens up the possibilities for the road race, and we take a look at the men who could come the closest to matching the Slovenian.

Pogacar will defend the title he won last year at the World Championships in Zurich. On that day, the UAE Team Emirates XRG rider was unrivaled. He attacked with 100 kilometers to go to win his first rainbow jersey in one of the greatest displays in cycling history. Will he be able to repeat something similar in Kigali? Of course, he won't have it easy against a number of very high-level rivals.

Beyond the course, which will be a challenge for any cyclist who takes the start (267.5 kilometers with more than 5,000 meters of accumulated elevation gain), Tadej Pogacar will have to face riders like Evenepoel himself, Isaac del Toro, Juan Ayuso, Tom Pidcock, Oscar Onley, Richard Carapaz, Ben Healy, Giulio Cicconne...

As can be seen, the race looks set to be one of the most competitive of recent editions of the UCI World Cycling Championships. For Tadej Pogacar, big favorite, who will be the 5 main rivals to beat?

After his performance in the time-trial race and his build-up, it is impossible not to consider Remco Evenepoel as Tadej Pogacar's main rival. The road race will be different, but with the legs shown last Sunday, the soon-to-be Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe star has only the goal of gold in mind.

In addition, it is worth noting that Belgium will bring a truly great team of domesitques riders for Evenepoel. Ilan Van Wilder (bronze in the World Time Trial), Cian Uijtdebroeks, Victor Campenaerts, Florian Vermeersch, Xandro Meurisse and Quinten Hermans will support their leader at all times.

His teammate at UAE Team Emirates - XRG, and now rival for a day. Isaac del Toro will arrive at the World Championship in Kigali as one of the best riders of the season. At only 21 years old, the Mexican has already won 13 times in 2025. He has 4 wins in his last 6 races, plus a 5th place in his first World Time Trial. A lot of eyes on a Del Toro who is undoubtedly a great candidate to finish on the podium, and why not try to beat Tadej Pogacar on a course that also favors him.

He is his compatriot and will also compete for Slovenia, yes, but Primoz Roglic has made it very clear that he wants to win the World Championships. His goal will not be to help Tadej Pogacar, but to fight for the gold medal potentially. And that's exactly what he means. Obviously, if the situation calls for it, both riders will help each other as much as possible. But if Roglic sees that he is capable of winning the gold medal, he won't give an inch to his teammate.

The most interesting opponent for spectators to see competing against Tadej Pogacar, for sure. Juan Ayuso faces the World Championships in Kigali after his controversial departure from UAE Team Emirates XRG. It has been constantly said that his relationship with the Slovenian has never been the best of all, and it worsened after what happened at the 2024 Tour de France. With tensions emerging, the problems did not stop happening until it was decided to separate the paths of rider and team.

Ayuso will be the leader of the Spanish National Team for the World Cup, confirmed by Alejandro Valverde. In the Vuelta a España he showed a great form when he wanted, winning two stages and supporting João Almeida. The rider from Jávea will also have a great team of domestiques formed by Marc Soler, Iván Romeo, Roger Adrià, Raúl García Pierna, Abel Balderstone, Carlos Verona and Carlos Canal.

Another great specialist in this type of course. Tom Pidcock will arrive at the World Championships in Kigali as the "last" of Tadej Pogacar's main rivals in fantastic form. The Briton finished on the podium at the Vuelta a España 2025, behind only Jonas Vingegaard and Joao Almeida. Here, in the battle for the rainbow jersey, he will be joined by teammate Oscar Onley, another of the race's big stars. Can they give the UK a medal and make life difficult for Pogacar?

Although these 5 riders mentioned above seem to be the strongest of the star list, that doesn't mean that there aren't many more medal contenders: Ben Healy, Quinn Simmons, Richard Carapaz, Giulio Ciccone, Thymen Arensman, Paul Seixas, Mattias Skjelmose, Giulio Pellizzari, Marc Hirschi, Jai Hindley, Julian Alaphilippe.... All of them will be perfectly capable of sneaking into one of the 3 podium places at the Kigali 2025 World Championships.