"One of the hardest days of my career": Giulio Ciccone comes 6th at the brutal Kigali course

The 2025 World Championships in Rwanda with what has been often dubbed as "the hardest race ever" left an indelible mark on the protagonists, and one of the names that resonated the most was that of Giulio Ciccone.

The Italian cyclist closed the competition in an outstanding sixth position, but his face at the end of the race was clear: the physical and mental exhaustion of a brutal day. "It was one of the hardest days of my career, an atrocious suffering," Ciccone declared.

Although altitude always plays a determining role in this type of race, Ciccone pointed out that the weather, on this occasion, was the most exhausting factor. "I don't think it was the altitude that influenced us so much as the weather, which wore us down kilometer by kilometer," he explained.

The extreme heat and low air quality affected all the participants, who were forced to manage not only physical fatigue, but also the difficult weather conditions.

The key moment of the day came during the ascent of Mount Kigali. On that stretch, Ciccone managed his effort well, not following Tadej Pogacar's too rashly and instead following the group led by French riders Pavel Sivakov and Paul Seixas.

However, as happens in any big race, it only took an instant for everything to change. "Unfortunately, in a race like this, it only takes a moment to fade: on the lap where Remco attacked between the two climbs, it was perhaps a mistake to follow him, and when I hit the cobbles, I was completely on edge and had to let go of his wheel," said Ciccone.

Ciccone's individual effort was matched by the teamwork of the Italian team, which held steady at the front throughout the day. "We did everything we could, getting into the top five would have been an even greater achievement, but we must be realistic. I am satisfied with my performance and that of the team, who rode very smart on a day where teamwork was crucial," said Ciccone.

For his part, the Italian national team's coach Marco Villa, who was making his debut in a road World Championships at the helm of the team, also expressed his satisfaction with the result. "We are happy with the performance, we were always in the fight with the best in an extremely tough race," said Villa. In this sense, he highlighted that even some favorites, such as the Australian Jai Hindley and the British Tom Pidcock, did not manage to resist Evenepoel's gruseome pace until the end.

Villa also praised the effort of Ciccone, who resisted until the last moment, something that was not easy given the circumstances. "Giulio was very brave to stay in the fight until the end. In this type of competition, a small difference can make the difference, and today, Remco [Evenepoel] paid the consequences of that difference," said the Italian coach, referring to the moment when Evenepoel, who up to that point had been one of the favorites, dropped off after a demanding final stage.

One of the great protagonists of the day was, without a doubt, the Slovenian Tadej Pogacar, who showed, once again, why he is considered one of the best cyclists in the world. Villa analyzed with lucidity the pace of the Slovenian champion: "Pogacar has a different pace, it's another level. The difference is clear, and sometimes it is better not to try to follow him, as Ayuso and Del Toro did."