Tadej Pogacar eyes gold in Rwanda hills in first African cycling World Championships
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Slovenia's Tadej Pogacar, with UAE Team Emirates XRG, crossing the finishing line during the 14th Grand Prix Cycliste de Montreal cycling road race in Montreal, Canada, on Sept 14.
PHOTO: AFP
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LONDON – Rwanda is known as the “land of a thousand hills”, so from a sporting perspective, it is fitting that its capital Kigali will stage the first road cycling World Championships in Africa.
The verdant country has a rich cycling culture and thousands of fans are expected to line the routes of the races that begin on Sept 21 with the women and men’s elite individual time trials.
A week later, it culminates with cycling superstar Tadej Pogacar fancied for the men’s road race
While the world meet is no doubt a landmark event for cycling and Rwanda, the decision to stage it in a country which allegedly backs the M23 rebels, who are fighting in neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo, has brought accusations by rights groups of “sportswashing”.
Security fears have dogged the build-up but International Cycling Union (UCI) head David Lappartient said there was no Plan B and prefers to see it as an opportunity to globalise the sport and inspire a future generation of African riders.
“It’s a bit of blue sky on a grey day,” he said in an interview with Cyclist magazine, when highlighting sport’s power to build bridges.
“I believe the right thing to do is to go to Rwanda. We have never been to Africa. We knew there would be challenges but we will have wonderful races, wonderful images worldwide.”
While there are some notable absentees, a stellar cast of riders will assemble in Kigali.
Belgium’s Remco Evenepoel will be favourite to win the men’s time trial gold for a third successive year on Sept 21.
Slovenia’s Pogacar will have his eyes on the following weekend’s road race, but the hilly nature of the 40.6km time trial course may pique his interest, while Australia’s Jay Vine and Dutchman Thymen Arensman could also push Olympic champion Evenepoel hard.
With 2024 women’s time trial champion Grace Brown having retired, American Chloe Dygert, a two-time world champion in the discipline, is favourite to win gold on the 31.2km course.
Including juniors and under-23s, 13 world titles are up for grabs in Rwanda – but none will be more eagerly anticipated than the elite road races on the second weekend.
If defending champion Pogacar were to design a world championship course to suit his formidable skill set, it would probably look something like the one he will race on Sept 28.
Nine laps of a 15km city circuit will be followed by a middle section with three climbs, one of which takes the riders to an elevation of 1,771m on Mount Kigali and a far shorter, but horribly steep, one which includes cobbles.
Four-time Tour de France winner Pogacar will not have his usual UAE Team Emirates back-up but will have a formidable teammate in the shape of Primoz Roglic, who will also fancy a medal. REUTERS
