{"id":111540,"date":"2025-09-28T16:48:15","date_gmt":"2025-09-28T16:48:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/pogacar-vs-evenepoel-who-takes-the-rainbow-jersey"},"modified":"2025-09-28T17:45:06","modified_gmt":"2025-09-28T17:45:06","slug":"pogacar-vs-evenepoel-who-takes-the-rainbow-jersey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/pogacar-vs-evenepoel-who-takes-the-rainbow-jersey","title":{"rendered":"Poga\u010dar vs Evenepoel: Who Takes the Rainbow Jersey?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Rwanda. <\/strong><\/span>Sunday, September 28<\/p>\n

Race: Men Elite Road Race<\/p>\n

Distance: 267.5km<\/p>\n

After seven thrilling days, the 2025 UCI Road World Championships in Kigali reaches its climax on Sunday, September 28, with the star-studded men elite road race.<\/p>\n

Canada\u2019s Magdeleine Vallieres already bagged the title in women elite road race on Saturday the mouthwatering final day serves as men\u2019s turn where 165 riders from 57 nations will line up for the ultimate test.<\/p>\n

The spotlight is firmly on Tadej Pogac\u030car and Remco Evenepoel, two modern titans whose rivalry has electrified the sport since their first day in Kigali.<\/p>\n

Pogac\u030car, the reigning world champion, is back to defend his rainbow jersey and redeem himself after a shaky start finishing fourth in the men\u2019s elite Individual Time Trial (ITT), 2 minutes and 37 seconds behind Evenepoel, who retained the title for third consecutive time.<\/p>\n

The course ahead promises nothing short of brutal: 267.5 kilometers, 5,475 metres of climbing not only that, but the whole race will be at the relentless altitude of Kigali at 1,850 metre and Mur de Kigali taking the peloton even higher up.<\/p>\n

Belgium\u2019s Evenepoel arrived in Kigali with a proven record of rising to the occasion on cycling\u2019s biggest one-day stage. Already a two-time world champion (2022 and 2023), the 24-year-old has been in sparkling form.<\/p>\n

At the 2024 Vuelta a Espan\u0303a, he claimed the mountains classification and lit up the race with trademark long-range attacks, reminding everyone of his ability to sustain solo efforts on punishing terrain. His fourth-place finish at the 2024 Tour de France further cemented his growing maturity in stage races.<\/p>\n

Having already clinched gold in the men\u2019s ITT this week, Evenepoel now targets a second rainbow jersey in Kigali, a double that would mark him as the man of the championship.<\/p>\n

On the other side of this rivalry stands Pogac\u030car, the undisputed star of the last two seasons. The Slovenian defended his Tour de France crown in 2024 with a blend of tactical patience and devastating bursts of power that few riders can withstand.<\/p>\n

His victory at last year\u2019s World Championships in Zurich proved he can dominate both grand tours and one-day classics. With recent triumphs at Lie\u0300ge\u2013Bastogne\u2013Lie\u0300ge and Il Lombardia, Pogac\u030car remains the benchmark on hilly, selective courses.<\/p>\n

Kigali\u2019s sharp climbs and tactical battles could play perfectly into his versatile skill set, allowing him to respond to Evenepoel\u2019s daring attacks while still posing a threat in a reduced sprint.<\/p>\n

Who else are on the running?<\/p>\n

Surely, this won\u2019t be a two-man affair. Belgian Wout van Aert remains one of the most dangerous riders in a one-day showdown thanks to his mix of endurance and sprinting power.<\/p>\n

Africa also has reason to believe in Biniam Girmay, who made history as the first African to podium at the World Championships with silver in the under-23 men\u2019s road race, bringing explosive speed and fearless racing to a course that could suit his strengths.<\/p>\n

Add in young talents such as Britain\u2019s Tom Pidcock, Pogac\u030car\u2019s countryman Primoz Roglic and Spain\u2019s Juan Ayuso, and Sunday\u2019s finale has all the ingredients of an unpredictable classic.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Rwanda<\/span> Follow Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Rwanda. Sunday, September 28 Race: Men Elite Road Race Distance: 267.5km After seven thrilling days, the 2025 UCI Road World Championships in Kigali reaches its climax on Sunday, September 28, with the star-studded men elite road race. Canada\u2019s Magdeleine Vallieres already bagged the title in women elite road race on Saturday the mouthwatering […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":111539,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,18],"tags":[7942,8198,758,7552,5170],"class_list":["post-111540","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-sport","tag-kigali-2025","tag-remco-evenepoel","tag-rwanda","tag-tadej-pogacar","tag-uci-road-world-championship"],"yoast_head":"\nPoga\u010dar vs Evenepoel: Who Takes the Rainbow Jersey? - Rwanda<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Sunday, September 28 Race: Men Elite Road Race Distance: 267.5km After seven thrilling days, the 2025 UCI Road World ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/pogacar-vs-evenepoel-who-takes-the-rainbow-jersey\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Poga\u010dar vs Evenepoel: Who Takes the Rainbow Jersey?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Sunday, September 28 Race: Men Elite Road Race Distance: 267.5km After seven thrilling days, the 2025 UCI Road World ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/pogacar-vs-evenepoel-who-takes-the-rainbow-jersey\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Rwanda\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-09-28T16:48:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-09-28T17:45:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2025\/09\/sm_1759068869.055303.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"614\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/pogacar-vs-evenepoel-who-takes-the-rainbow-jersey#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/pogacar-vs-evenepoel-who-takes-the-rainbow-jersey\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Poga\u010dar vs Evenepoel: Who Takes the Rainbow Jersey?\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-09-28T16:48:15+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-09-28T17:45:06+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/pogacar-vs-evenepoel-who-takes-the-rainbow-jersey\"},\"wordCount\":545,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/pogacar-vs-evenepoel-who-takes-the-rainbow-jersey#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2025\/09\/sm_1759068869.055303.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"KIGALI 2025\",\"Remco Evenepoel\",\"Rwanda\",\"Tadej Pogacar\",\"UCI Road World championship\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"Sport\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/pogacar-vs-evenepoel-who-takes-the-rainbow-jersey#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/pogacar-vs-evenepoel-who-takes-the-rainbow-jersey\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/pogacar-vs-evenepoel-who-takes-the-rainbow-jersey\",\"name\":\"Poga\u010dar vs Evenepoel: Who Takes the Rainbow Jersey? 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