The 2025 World Championships in Kigali, Rwanda, kick off over the weekend with the men's and women's elite time trials. The women's race is a hilly 31.2 km event, with a number of top riders set to fight for victory. The rainbow stripes were won by Grace Brown last year in Switzerland, but because the Australian retired at the end of the season, they've not been seen in 2025. On Sunday, that will change.
Unlike time trials in WorldTour events and other time trials that take place throughout the year, the Worlds ITT has a start list of only 50 riders, with most nations qualifying only one or two start spots, which limits the number of true contenders. In a time trial, it is not uncommon for bigger nations to only send riders whom they think can medal, while smaller nations send riders for experience or to have their nation on display.
And, because Rwanda is so far away from mainland Europe, quite a few European countries will skip the event, but a lot of African nations are seizing the opportunity to represent. The road race will be different, and a lot of top riders in the road race won't fly to Worlds until after the time trial is over, but some nations have opted to skip the elite road race altogether, most notably Great Britain, which will focus on the U23 road race instead.
For comparison, there were 44 nations represented at the World's ITT in Switzerland last year, and there will be 35 this year. There are also quite a few unknown riders, like Najma Najma of Comoros and Dodo Humberto Ié of Guinea-Bissau, who have never raced a UCI event before. Such is the beauty of the world championships, and one held in an African country. In the time trial, riders who have never raced at the top level can see how they stack up without riding in a peloton full of the best in the world.
The Basics
When: Sunday, September 21 - live coverage set to begin at 10:00 CET/04:00 EST/18:00 AEST
Distance and elevation gain: 31.2 km, 456 m
Did we do a good job with this story?
