With 5,475m of climbing, 2025 Road World Championships in Rwanda to be one of hardest ever
Men face 5,475 metres of climbing at altitude, women to climb 3,350 metres in 164.6km race
The 2025 Road World Championships in Rwanda will be the first ever held in Africa and one of the hardest races in rainbow jersey history, with the elite men climbing 5,475 metres of elevation during their 267.5km race.
The race routes were officially unveiled during the 2024 Road World Championships in Zürich on Thursday. The races will be held in the Rwanda's capital Kigali between September 21-28, 2025.
Rwanda is known as the 'Land of a Thousand Hills' and Kigali sits at an altitude of 1850 metres, adding a further difficulty to the racing.
"The high altitude and the climbs will challenge the riders to push their limits. A place in the history books is at stake," organisers said.
The time trials are scheduled from Sunday to Wednesday. The elite men will cover 680 metres of altitude during their 40.6km race, while the elite women will climb 460 metres in just over 31.2km.
The road races will be held between Thursday and Sunday with a under-23 women's road race held separately from the elite women's race for the first time.
The road races will be held on a 15.1km circuit which includes two short climbs and continuous rolling and testing roads. The men will cover 15 laps plus an extra mid-race 42.5km extension circuit to climb the infamous Mur du Kigal, the cobbled climb that kicks up at 11%.
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
The elite women's race will cover 11 laps of the Kigali circuit for a distance of 164.6km and an elevation of 3,350 metres but they will not cover the Mur du Kigali.
"Bringing the World Cycling Championships to the African continent has been my vision for many years," UCI President David Lappartient said.
"In a year's time, this will become a reality. I am delighted that this historic event will take place in Rwanda, which is already known for the beautiful Tour of Rwanda.
"Kigali and the entire country have a rich cycling culture, which will now be shared with the world. I can't wait to welcome the cycling family to what will be a milestone in the development and globalisation of our sport."
Get unlimited access to all of our coverage of the 2024 UCI Road World Championships - including breaking news and analysis reported by our journalists on the ground from the junior, under-23, and elite time trials and road races as it happens and more. Find out more.
Thank you for reading 5 articles in the past 30 days*
Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read any 5 articles for free in each 30-day period, this automatically resets
After your trial you will be billed £4.99 $7.99 €5.99 per month, cancel anytime. Or sign up for one year for just £49 $79 €59
Join now for unlimited access
Try your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
Stephen is the most experienced member of the Cyclingnews team, having reported on professional cycling since 1994. He has been Head of News at Cyclingnews since 2022, before which he held the position of European editor since 2012 and previously worked for Reuters, Shift Active Media, and CyclingWeekly, among other publications.