Preview, favourites, profile, route and predictions women's World Championships road race 2025 - Netherlands vs Ferrand-Prévot, Reusser, Le Court and more

We preview the women's elite World Championships road race, taking place in Kigali. Here is the profile and the favourites for the race that will take place on the 27th September. It is expected to start at 12:05CET and finish at 16:45CET.

The course will be 164.5 kilometers long and take on 11 laps of a difficult circuit in the city of Kigali. In total there will be 3600 meters of climbing, quite a lot for a race of this distance, specially with a cobbled climb added to the mix on every single climb.

The circuit will have 15.5 kilometers in length and feature the Côte de Kigali Gold which is 800 meters long at 8% and finishes with 6 kilometers to go. A small descent leads into the Còte de Kimihurura which is the main climb of the circuit.

This cobbled ascent is 1.3 kilometers long at 6.4% and ends with a mete 1 kilometer to go. The decisive attacks can happen. After 300 meters of rest, the final 700 meters are then uphill to the finish line at a gradient of over 5%, making it a very explosive punchy finale. The whole circuit takes place at around 1500 meters of altitude.

The Netherlands (Demi Vollering, Anna van der Breggen, Riejanne Markus, Pauliena Rooijakkers, Shirin van Anrooij, Yara Kastelijn) and France (Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, Cédrine Kerbaol, Juliette Labous, Evita Muzic, Maeva Squiban) are the two superpowers into this race and are likely to be the big favourites if they play their cards right. But in terms of form and ability in this race many others can take the victory and the rainbow jersey such as Kim Le Court, time-trial World Champion Marlen Reusser, Katarzyna Niewiadoma, Elisa Longo Borghini or Liane Lippert.

Netherlands - Such a strong team, but tactics and dynamics are not their strong point. Last year this was more evident than ever with Riejanne Markus, Marianne Vos and Demi Vollering all in strong position, but it seemed like each rider had their own tactics and they weren't racing in a team. Unfortunately for them, the same can pretty much be expected here. Vollering is the team's best option for a victory, and a strong one to be honest, as she can make the difference on the climbs. Last year she tried, but dropped Vos who was a clear favourite to win in a sprint.

She teams up with Anna van der Breggen who was also on the podium of the time-trial event, but both did not have the best split last year at SD Worx and naturally both want the win. None sprint too well, none are clearly superior to each other, they can use each other to attack their rivals and cover moves but there isn't a clear way to be above the competition. However many may eye Vollering and give more freedom to their teammates, including the also incredibly talented Markus, Shirin van Anrooij, Yara Kastelijn and Pauliena Rooijakkers who can realistically fight for a top result or even victory in the right circumstances.

France - The French have a similar situation, but not as much a problem, because Pauline Ferrand-Prévot is the clear headliner and no-one is at her level in terms of name. But someone can be at her level in terms of legs, but the French will have one rider covered by the very best only which also opens way to Cédrine Kerbaol, Juliette Labous, Evita Muzic and Maeva Squiban. These two teams are expected to battle each other and attack from early on to try and make use of their numbers. Ferrand-Prévot, at the top level she's shown this season, would be an absolute favourite, but we do have to pose the question if she is at that level because it's not too likely.

Alongside Ferrand-Prévot, I would put Elisa Longo Borghini, the leader of the Italian team in the same situation. Since the Tour de France Femmes both raced (at the highest level) only the Classic Lorient Agglomeration and it wasn't possible to gauge their level there. That was also weeks ago and so we do not know what legs they will have in this important race, whereas at top level they're both plain victory candidates.

Marlen Reusser leads the Swiss team and she is a major threat, her climbing level increased substantially this year and she has been doing all kinds of climbs with the best whilst maintaining her raw power which is extremely dangerous for any sort of solo attack. The time-trial World Champion dominated the race on Sunday and should be on great form. Kim Le Court of Mauritius is also a prime contender after the Tour de France she did and her triumph at LBL Femmes. Her talent as a puncheur makes her a top favourite but she will need the resistance after climbing all day long.

Katarzyna Niewiadoma, Liane Lippert, Mavi García, Niamh Fisher-Black, Blanka Kata Vas, Urska Zigart, Elise Chabbey, Chloé Dygert and Antonia Niedermaier are amongst those who are also expected to be in or near the front and could very well be in contention for a place in the podium or even more. They can mostly benefit from the tactical racing that may happen ahead with the bigger national teams who will want to use their numbers, and with the right timing some of these smaller teams can even eliminate completely the advantage of teams such as the Netherlands and France. Niewiadoma and Lippert, as explosive riders, definitely have a big say for the gold medal and with the course ending in a small climb, having a strong sprint won't be key as it was in other editions including last year where Lotte Kopecky took the win.

*** Kim Le Court, Demi Vollering, Marlen Reusser
** Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, Anna van der Breggen, Katarzyna Niewiadoma, Liane Lippert
* Pauliena Rooijakker, Shirin van Anrooij, Elisa Longo Borghini, Juliette Labous, Evita Muzic, Cédrine Kerbaol, Mavi García, Niamh Fisher-Black, Blanka Kata Vas, Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio

Pick: Anna van der Breggen

How: Long-distance attack with someone else and solo victory then.