Slovenian super star Tadej Pogacar had a day to forget in Kigali as he missed out on the podium of the men elite Individual Time Trial (ITT) race of the UCI Road World Championships which is happening in Africa for the first time. The Tour de France winner finished in fourth place after racing a 40.6km course in 52.23 minutes, two minutes and 37 seconds behind race winner Remco Evenepoel, who bagged his third straight title in a row after Glasgow in 2023 and Zurich in 2024. In the final 2.2 kilometres on the cobbled climb, Evenepoel, adorned in the golden helmet as Olympic champion, caught and overtook Pogačar to cross the finish line at Kigali Convention Centre before cheering Belgian supporters. “For sure, it’s a hard one to swallow,” said Pogačar after the defeat and being overtaken by Evenepoel. It’s hard to recall the Slovenian ever having a defeat like this inflicted on him, and the moment Evenepoel caught him will be remembered for years to come. I felt pretty good straight away. On the first flat part, I felt that the legs were turning. I was holding my pace without going over the limit. And then, the first climb of the day was actually quite hard, together with the last two ones, so I really pushed it there, Evenepoel said. “And then after, I saw I had quite a big gap, so I just wanted to keep a pace that I could hold until the bottom of Peage, and then I just went flat out on every climb,” he added “But I must say, the cobbles, I hated them at some point. It was so, so hard to really push through them, but in the end, I won is the most important. And Ilan, my teammate, and same age generation guys became third. So a phenomenal day for us, I guess. He noted Commenting about catching Pogačar, Evenpoel said, “I think on a day like today, it doesn't matter who it is. But I just wanted to push as hard as possible from the first climb on, and then I just tried to recover as much as possible in the descents.” Reusser rules the world in Women Elite ITT After several attempts chasing gold in the Time Trial races, Marlen Reusser finally ended the jinx with the victory in Kigali on Sunday. I can almost not believe it. I tried so many times and it didn't work out, and now I think I made it, Reusser said moments after crossing the finish line. The Swiss time trial specialist conquered the challenging course in Africa's first-ever UCI World Championships. She described the route as brutal, requiring a carefully measured effort throughout. This course you could really pace it polarized. I went really hard on the climbs, maybe even too hard at the beginning of the final climb, she added I think I had an advantage as a heavier rider because without much effort I still go down pretty fast, then I could put all my effort into the climbs. Reusser had previously stood on the time trial world championship podium multiple times without securing the top step. Her victory was especially meaningful after those disappointments. So many people have worked with me for so many years with such passion and love. That I can achieve this now makes me happy for myself, but even more for the whole group around me, she noted. Despite the historic nature of competing in Rwanda, Reusser admitted her intense focus during the race prevented her from fully experiencing the unique atmosphere of Africa's first World Championships. During an ITT, I'm so much in the tunnel there could be black walls, pink walls, stars, sun - whatever. I don't really realise it. I'm just focused on my effort, she said.
