Tadej Pogacar has been crowned world champion. © ANSA / KIM LUDBROOK

Solo king Pogacar grabs World Cup crown

Superstar Tadej Pogacar has secured his second gold medal at the first World Championships in an African country and successfully defended his title.

September 28, 2025

From: dpa

The exceptional Slovenian rider braved the tough conditions of the road race in Rwanda on Sunday and won after a 66-kilometer solo stage, accompanied by hundreds of thousands of fans in the capital, Kigali. The Slovenian mastered the demanding 267,5-kilometer course and 5475 meters of elevation gain ahead of Belgian time trial world champion Remco Evenepoel and Irishman Ben Healy.

This was revenge for the memorable time trial defeat against Evenepoel a week ago. Last year, Pogacar celebrated his first world championship title in Switzerland after riding in the lead for about 100 kilometers.

Pogacar distances competitor Evenepoel early

Cheered on by tens of thousands of deafeningly celebrating fans on Mont Kigali, the Slovenian laid the foundation for his second World Championship victory. Already 100 kilometers from the finish, it became clear that the expected duel between the four-time Tour de France champion and three-time time trial world champion Evenepoel would not take place. As he had often done before, the Belgian, who will soon ride for the German Red Bull team, struggled on long climbs.

Tadej Pogacar dominated the race at will. © ANSA / KIM LUDBROOK

After the uphill cobblestone challenge on the Mur de Kigali, an internal team duel developed between Pogacar and young Mexican star Isaac del Toro. Both ride for the UAE racing team. Del Toro caused a stir at this year's Giro d'Italia with his second place overall.

Pogacar makes time trial failure forgotten

Meanwhile, Evenepoel lost more valuable seconds when his bike broke down, and he waited, annoyed, for his replacement. With just under 66 kilometers to go, Pogacar pulled away from the exhausted del Toro and began his next solo ride. Evenepoel surprisingly rejoined Pogacar's chasing group. However, the gap between the Slovenian and the small group remained constant at around one minute. Pogacar likely enjoyed the rematch for his clear defeat in the time trial a week ago in Rwanda. The Belgian was 2:37 minutes faster. Despite starting two and a half minutes later, he still overtook the Slovenian.