The elite men's time trial at the UCI Road World Championships is held a few hours after the elite women's time trial on Sunday, September 22, launching the world championships with two big ticket world titles up for grabs.
The men race on a similar course to the women in central Kigali, covering 40.6km rather than 31.2km. The men's course includes several rolling climbs, mostly on wide roads, explaining why the likes of Filippo Ganna (Italy) opted not to ride this year.
The course starts inside the 10,000-seat BK Arena in central Kigali, so on an indoor start ramp. The route heads south to climb the so-called Côte de Nyanza on the out-and-back sector, then the two-kilometre Côte de Peage with just seven kilometres to go. There is also a climb to the finish via the Côte de Kimihurura, with the line outside the Kigali Convention Centre, as for all the races.
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Riders will have to stay aero as they tackle the climbs and the 680 metres of climbing of the 40.6km course. The 1500-metre altitude will also be a factor and will hurt anyone who fails to pace their effort.
Remco Evenepoel (Belgium) and Tadej Pogačar (Slovenia) are expected to fight for the rainbow jersey but could be challenged by riders who raced the Vielta a España.
These are the Cyclingnews' contenders for the elite men's time trial.
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He beat Ganna by 12 seconds in Zurich last year and has finished on the podium on three other occasions, becoming junior world champion in Innsbruck in 2018.
Evenepoel also won this year's early time trial stage at the Tour de France beating an on-form Pogačar by 16 seconds on a flat 33km course. He suffered in the mountain time trial stage and then quit the Tour with fatigue.
He returned to racing at the Tour of Britain after an altitude camp in Livigno and confirmed his transfer from Soudal-QuickStep to Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe for 2026. Evenepoel won the hardest stage of the Tour of Britain in Wales but doubts remain about how good his form really is.
The time trial will be the first indication if Evenepoel has a real shot at winning both the time trial and road race titles in Rwanda.
Tadej Pogačar (Slovenia)
Tadej Pogačar at the 2024 Tour de France (Image credit: Getty Images)
A special performance will be needed to beat Evenepoel on the rolling roads of Kigali, but Pogačar appears able to do special things whenever he gets on his bike.
He is not as aerodynamic and not a time trial specialist like the Belgian but manages to produce the same power and performances that have won him the Tour de France four times and most of the biggest Classics on the calendar.
Pogačar wants a world title double, too, and he would not have opted to ride the time trial if he did not believe in his chances. He only returned to racing in Canada, and admitted he has been riding his time trial bike during his summer break from racing.
His best world champion time trial result was sixth in Wollongong in 2022. However, the hilly Kigali course changes everything and means Pogačar is Evenepoel's biggest rival.
Jay Vine and Luke Plapp (Australia)
Jay Vine in action at the Vuelta a España (Image credit: Getty Images)
Australia has two talented riders and two possible medal contenders for the men's time trial. Jay Vine and Luke Plapp have taken two different paths to Rwanda but are both suited to the hilly course, which penalises their more powerful rivals.
Plapp was a late call-up to the Tour de France after riding the Giro d'Italia and winning a stage in Italy. He was ninth in the flat Tour time trial and then fifth in the Peyragudes mountain time trial. The sum of his performances confirm Plapp has the time trial skills and climbing ability to excel in Rwanda. He has spent recent weeks at altitude in Andorra and seems fresh, happy and ambitious.
Vine arrived in Rwanda from the Vuelta a España. He is surely fatigued after winning two stages, the mountain's jersey and riding for João Almeida but is clearly on form. If he stayed healthy and stayed focused, he could upset the Evenepoel-Pogačar battle.
Vine is a former Australian national time trial champion and is skilled at staying in an aero tuck and riding hilly time trials. He only lost the 12km Valladolid Vuelta time trial by a few hundredths of a second to Ganna and seems confident and ambitious after a season without major setbacks
Isaac del Toro (México)
The Mexican super-talent is a true dark horse for the time trial. Isaac del Toro is not a proven time trial rider at World Championships level but his current form elevates above others and makes him a medal contender.
Last week Del Toro won the GP Industria & Artigianato, Giro della Toscana, Coppa Sabatini and Trofeo Matteotti in Italy and who can forget his Giro d'Italia performance.
He may struggle to stay aero for all of the 40km time trial but has the form to handle the climbs and a mentality that shakes off any pressure and expectation.
Bruno Armirail and Paul Seixas (France)
French super-talent Paul Seixas (Image credit: Getty Images)
Bruno Armirail and Paul Seixas are two contrasting riders but give France two cards to play in the time trial.
Armirail is a classic rouleur time trialist, who has the power, time trial skills and mentality for racing against the clock. He is the current French national champion after beating Kévin Vauquelin and Seixas in June.
He rode the Tour and the Vuelta this summer, finishing fourth in the Caen and Valladolid stages. He is 31 but has been buoyed by Visma-Lease a bike signing him for 2026.
If Armirail represents the current best in French time trialling, Seixas is the future. The 18-year-old was junior world champion in Zurich last year. He proved he is a true 'super talent' by impressing at the Tour of the Alps and then the Critérium du Dauphiné, where he was eighth overall. He recently won the Tour de L'Avenir confirming his Grand Tour potential and won the opening prologue up to Tignes and then the final 10km mountain time trial.
He has since trained at altitude and will also be part of the French road race team alongside Julian Alaphilippe and Valentin Madouas.
Iván Romeo (Spain)
Iván Romeo is another young revelation and part of Spain's next generation that includes Juan Ayuso and Pablo Torres.
He has been a WorldTour rider since 2023 and won the Under-23 time trial world title in 2024 before the UCI changed their rules to stop WorldTour competing at the lower level.
Romeo made his Tour debut this year and was seventh in the Caen time trial and then went on the attack on four different road stages. He is the current Spanish road race national champion, which confirms his many talents.
Matteo Sobrero (Italy)
Ganna opted not to ride the World Championships due to the hilly course and so Italy have selected Matteo Sobrero, Gann's close friend and possibly future brother-in-law.
The eclectic Mattia Cattaneo will also race for the azzurri in the time trial, before forming part of the Mixed Relay and road race teams, and joining Evenepoel at Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe in 2026.
Sobrero was Italian time trial champion in 2021 when he beat Eduardo Affini and Cattaneo, and is suited to the hilly Kigali course.
Stefan Küng (Switzerland)
Stefan Küng in action (Image credit: Luc Claessen/Getty Images)
Küng is perhaps not suited to the hills of Rwanda but true to character, he will fly the flag for Switzerland and give his all.
He rode the Vuelta a España and so has the endurance and form to secure a result if he can pace his effort on the climbs and then accelerate on the descents.
Magnus Sheffield (USA)
A number of US riders, including Brandon McNulty, opted out of the World Championships but Sheffield but will be in Rwanda after riding the Vuelta.
He was 13th last year and 16th in the Paris Olympics time trial. The hilly course and the absence of other riders could see him finish in the top 10 or even higher.
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Stephen is one of the most experienced members of the Cyclingnews team, having reported on professional cycling since 1994. Before becoming Editor-at-large, he was Head of News at Cyclingnews. He has previously worked for Shift Active Media, Reuters and Cycling Weekly. He is a member of the Board of the Association Internationale des Journalistes du Cyclisme (AIJC).
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