The UCI Road World Championships have customarily opened with the individual time trial events in recent years, and Kigali 2025 follows suits, with the elite time trials the first event of the championships, taking place on Sunday 21 September.
The rolling Kigali course is one of the most challenging in recent memory. Beginning at the BK Arena and finishing in the Kigali Convention Centre, the women face a 31.2 kilometre test while the men’s race measures 40.6 kilometres. With 460m of ascent for the women and 680 for the men, barely any flat, and a tough cobbled climb – the Côte de Kimihurura – at the end of the route, it’s not a time trial for the faint-hearted. It will require a clear pacing strategy, and will likely favour the time trialists who are also strong climbers, making it a more demanding test for powerful flat specialists.
