DISCUSSION World Championships Men Elite Road Race | Was this Tadej Pogacar's most impressive victory? Did mechanicals ruin Remco Evenepoel's chances to win gold?

The World Championships men's elite road race 2025 took place in Kigali, Rwanda, in a demanding circuit with 5500 meters of climbing. Tadej Pogacar was the overwhelming favourite to win gold and secure the rainbow jersey for the second year in a row, and he absolutely fulfilled the expectations.

The race started early in the morning, and after a few breakaway attempts, it was six riders going clear: Anders Foldager, Ivo Oliveira, Marius Mayrhofer, Julien Bernard, Fabio Christen and Menno Huising. They were subsequently joined by Raúl García Pierna, making it seven riders in front.

The bunch was controlled by Slovenia and Belgium, who set a serious tempo to avoid the break going too far away. Before the first and only climb to Mont Kigali (5.9km at 6.8%), the gap had been reduced to 1 minute, and with 100km to go, the race completely exploded.

It was Tadej Pogacar, who else, the rider attacking and destroying the peloton. Only his UAE Team Emirates – XRG teammates Isaac del Toro and Juan Ayuso could follow him, but they would both eventually crack, leaving him all alone in front.

The gap rose to more than 1 minute and stabilized around that, while behind the Slovenian it was Remco Evenepoel leading the group trying to catch him. However, the lack of collaboration and energy made it impossible for the rest of contenders to work together, allowing Pogacar to fly away to the finish line, securing the gold medal and the right to wear the rainbow jersey for the second year in a row.

Evenepoel ended up dropping all the rest of the riders and arrived second, while Ben Healy was third and got a historic bronze medal. Mattias Skjelmose and Toms Skujins completed the top five.

Once the race finished, we asked some of our writers to share their thoughts and main takeaways about what happened today.

On what was arguably one of the toughest and most demanding World Championship courses of the last twenty years, Kigali proved to be the place where only the strongest made it to the podium. Two names were missing: Mathieu van der Poel and Jonas Vingegaard.

For the Dane it may have been a sensible choice not to start, but Van der Poel’s decision to go golfing with Michael Phelps raised my eyebrows. Especially since the bronze medal Healy showed that there were real opportunities for him on this course.

The expected duel that did materialize was filled with stories and speculation from former riders and experts. Pogacar later explained his view of the race. Ayuso’s case remained unclear: some pointed to mechanical trouble, but it looked more like he had simply reached his limit.

Isaac del Toro reportedly suffered from stomach cramps, though strangely he still finished close. Equally confusing was Remco Evenepoel’s situation. His head-shaking as he crossed the line with the silver medal spoke volumes.

The explanation came later. Evenepoel had hit a pothole, which caused his saddle to drop, forcing his hamstrings to work differently and triggering cramps. The spare bike he then received was, according to him, not properly adjusted: the saddle was level, while he normally needs a slightly negative tilt to avoid back pain. As a result, he opted for another bike change. That swap cost him 42 seconds and came just as the chasing group was closing in on Pogacar.

Pogacar remained unfazed. He benefited from being far better informed during this Worlds than the year before. He knew exactly where his rivals were and how big their gaps were. His team car did a flawless job, and the Slovenian played with the one-minute lead he had, maintaining it and even stretching it further.

That widening gap showed who the strongest truly was. It may take Evenepoel days to fully accept it. Still, it was a pity for the race that circumstances unfolded this way. Both riders stood head and shoulders above the rest and had incredible legs on the day. But in the end, whichever way you look at it, the strongest won: Tadej Pogacar.

He's done it again. He said that this time he wouldn't attack more than 100 kilometers from the finish line, but he couldn't help himself. Tadej Pogacar continues to add arguments race after race to challenge Eddy Merckx for the title of greatest cyclist of all time.

The Slovenian formed a dream trio with his UAE teammates Isaac del Toro and Juan Ayuso, who couldn't keep up with him, and he rode off alone with 60-odd kilometers to go to the finish line. No one saw him again until after the race.

Remco Evenepoel had a difficult race with mechanical problems and was extremely frustrated after the finish, but he proved to be the second strongest rider of the day. Ayuso and Del Toro did very well to finish in the top 10 after attempting the feat of following Pogacar.

Tadej Pogacar cannot stop breaking records and enlarging his legacy. After an almost perfect season in 2024 that looked unrepeatable, when it seemed it couldn’t get any better, he still found a way to improve.

No rider had won all Ronde van Vlaanderen, Liege-Bastogne-Liege and the World Championships road race in the same season, until Pogacar did it today. No rider has podiumed in all five monuments the same year either, but we all know that stat will not last long, specifically two weeks. And he can also add the European Championships to his record book…

Everyone knew he was the man to watch, but it was unclear when his stab would take place. Mont Kigali was the place some pointed as the best launching pad, but I was hesitant before the race. After last year’s 100km exhibition, I didn’t think he would risk doing it again.

For several reasons, one of them because the surprise factor would not be there in the same way as last year, secondly because the Rwandan circuit was extremely tough to think a solo adventure would be a good idea, and finally because he had ruled out that possibility some days before.

And still, the unexpected happened again, for the second year in a row. Tadej Pogacar didn’t want to wait anymore and flew away in pursuit of his second rainbow jersey.

Only two men followed him, and both paid the price afterwards. It was exactly the same kind of mistake Ben o’Connor did at the Giro d’Italia 2024, when he tried to follow Tadej’s wheel in the last climb of the second stage and ended up cracking completely. "When you sail too close to the sun, you get stung," the Australian said, and the same can be applied to Ayuso and del Toro.

They were ambitious enough to think they could follow the attack of the Slovenian, but that was just not possible. Pogacar is in a league of his own, no other rider could have done that. Still, despite not working out, it is worth praising the courage both showed. It could have been a full UAE Team Emirates – XRG podium.

But Ayuso first and del Toro later realized their legs were burning too much too early, and they had to take the foot off the gas and wait for the peloton. Back in the bunch, tactics were conspicuous by their absence.

After Pogacar went clear, the riders remaining in peloton were just running around like headless chickens. Australia and Italy still had four members, Belgium had at least three, France also had three… Why didn’t they form an obvious alliance to chase down Pogacar?

They all knew what happened last year and how the lack of organization in peloton allowed Pogacar to survive in front for 100km and win. They should not have let the same situation happen again, that is embarrassing.

Even if it is the best cyclist in the world riding in front, he is at a huge disadvantage against an organized peloton chasing him down for 100km. There were enough domestiques in peloton to just take relays and either close or reduce the gap with the Slovenian, but they needed some kind of collaboration and organization for that, and today there was none of that.

Instead, they were just attacking each other, stopping, then attacking again. It was a déjà vu of last year, and the outcome was exactly the same, to the surprise of nobody. And it was a pity because it was clear that there was at least one rider that could have had some chances, named Remco Evenepoel.

The Belgian did not have the fortune on his side, having to change the bike twice and throwing a little tantrum in the process. Despite those incidents and after chasing closing down a 45-second gap between him and peloton almost by himself, he still had the legs to pull for many kilometres and drop everyone else.

He tried to play smart in Mont Kigali, refusing to follow Pogacar’s hellish pace, which was the correct decision in my opinion. However, misfortune and horrible tactics by the main countries eliminated his chances to get gold and get what would have been a historic double gold medal in both time trial and road race.

Bronze was for Ben Healy, who showed his resilience and endurance. He was the best amongst humans, and he got one of his biggest results after dropping Skjelmose, who also did a hell of a race.

Finally, I would like to point out Toms Skujins’ performance. The Latvian barely had the help of his teammates, who were out of contention very early in the race, yet he managed to finish in fifth place. Something absolutely remarkable that is actually not that surprising, as he was already fourth last year and eighth in 2023.