Slovenia’s Pogacar Defends World Title With Dazzling Solo Win in Kigali

Tadej Pogacar lit up Kigali’s punishing climbs with a trademark long-range attack to claim a second consecutive men’s road race world title Sunday, cementing his place among cycling’s all-time greats.

The Slovenian’s solo triumph came as the world championships were staged in Africa for the first time, with hundreds of thousands of fans lining Rwanda’s capital to witness history.

Slovenia’s Tadej Pogacar celebrates on the podium after winning the Men’s Elite Road Race with second-placed Belgium’s Remco Evenepoel and third-placed Ireland’s Ben Healy at the UCI Road World Championships 2025.

Belgium’s Remco Evenepoel, who had won his third straight individual time trial title a week earlier, settled for silver, finishing one minute and 28 seconds behind Pogacar. Ireland’s Ben Healy claimed bronze, 48 seconds further back, delivering his country’s first podium finish in the event since Seán Kelly in 1989.

Pogacar, 27, became only the second rider in the last two decades to defend the rainbow jersey, after Slovakia’s Peter Sagan’s triple from 2015 to 2017.

His decisive move came on Mount Kigali with 104 kilometers remaining. Only UAE-XRG teammates Juan Ayuso of Spain and Isaac Del Toro of Mexico could initially hold his wheel, but both soon fell away. Pogacar pressed on alone for another trademark solo victory on the 267.5-kilometer course, which featured relentless climbs and cobblestone sections.

Evenepoel led the chase group but, despite briefly reducing the gap, the pursuers never closed in on Pogacar, who smiled through grimaces on the final lap.

The win capped a glittering 2025 season for Pogacar, who claimed his fourth Tour de France crown in July, dominated spring classics including Strade Bianche, Tour of Flanders, La Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège, and reaffirmed his dominance across both stage and one-day races.

The men’s road race brought the curtain down on the 2025 UCI Road World Championships, which concluded in Kigali after a week of competition that marked Africa’s first time hosting cycling’s biggest annual event.

UCI President David Lappartient hailed the championships as “a landmark moment for the sport,” while Rwanda’s sports minister said the success “showed Africa’s ability to deliver world-class cycling on its own roads.”

President Paul Kagame, who attended the finale, said Rwanda was proud “to welcome the world of cycling to our hills” and expressed hope the event would inspire “a new generation of African riders to chase their dreams.”