It is his greatest achievement: never before has the phenomenal Slovenian covered so many kilometers alone. The Belgian finishes 1’28“ behind after problems with his saddle and a double bike change, Healy takes bronze at 2’16”. Coach Villa’s Italy did what it could, Ciccone 6th at 6’47“: ”I’ve never suffered so much, I’ve lost 15 years of my life.” For the UCI, a million people along the route.
Immense. Untouchable. He is the king of Africa, the lord of world cycling, who chose the historic edition of the world championships in Rwanda to sign yet another feat in a career without equal in contemporary cycling. Tadej Pogacar makes the incredible possible. He takes off the rainbow jersey he won in Zurich in 2024 and, wearing the green jersey of the Slovenian national team, demolishes his rivals on the circuit in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, to put the white jersey with rainbow stripes back on the podium. It was the second hardest course in history, with 35 climbs, 5,475 meters of elevation gain, and even cobblestones, second only to that of Sallanches in 1980, where Hinault won. after 6 hours and 21 minutes of racing, Pogacar triumphed with a 1’28“ lead over Belgian Remco Evenepoel, who was in tears at the finish line, slowed down by saddle problems just as his historic rival attacked and forced to change bikes twice. Bronze went to Irishman Ben Healy at 2’16”, with Danish rider Skjelmose fourth at 2’53”. Another statistic: out of 164 at the start, only 30 riders finished.
Italy, led by coach Marco Villa in his first national team role as head of the professionals, disappeared in the last 50 kilometers: Ciccone tried to stay afloat and finished sixth at 6’47”. Of the eight Italians in the race, only Andrea Bagioli, 17th at 10’06“, and debutant Gianmarco Garofoli, 22nd at 10’16”, crossed the finish line alongside Ciccone. Some, like Fortunato, retired too early, while others were not in peak form considering the importance of the World Championships. In any case, Ciccone, who finished second in Liège behind Pogacar and first in the Clásica de San Sebastián, and who was brilliant in the Vuelta, was not at his best and was always playing catch-up, chasing the leaders on a day he described as “the hardest of my career. I’ve never suffered so much. I’ve lost 15 years of my life.”
The key— This time, Pogacar’s feat began on Mont Kigali, at an altitude of 1,771 meters, the highest point of this high-altitude circuit (the capital is at 1,493 meters). The last thousand meters of Mont Kigali climb straight and steeply at 17%, with 105 kilometers to go to the finish line: Tadej is caught up by his UAE Emirates teammates, first the Spaniard Ayuso and then the Mexican Del Toro, while Evenepoel struggles with his bike (saddle problems) and from that moment on is forced to watch his archrival’s back from afar, further and further away. One kilometer later, on the Muro di Kigali, 400 meters of cobblestones and 20% gradients, Ayuso, the rebel of the team, is dropped by the two, and then, 66 km from the finish line, Del Toro looks pitifully at the captain, as if to say: I can’t keep up with you anymore. At that point, Pogacar’s solo ride begins among hundreds of thousands of fans who made this World Championship in Africa unforgettable: a bet won by the UCI, the international federation, which spoke of a million people along the route.
The figures— With a 66 km solo breakaway, Pogacar sets another record: never before has anyone won a major classic or the World Championships with so many kilometers alone. At the 2024 World Championships in Zurich, he broke away 100 km from the finish line and rode 51.7 km alone; at the Giro di Lombardia, which he has won four times in a row since 2021, the record was 48.4 km in 2024, after breaking away from Evenepoel on the Sormano climb; in his second triumph at the Tour of Flanders in 2025, his solo breakaway was 18 km. And so this champion, unique in his simplicity, who has just turned 27 and has a lifetime contract with UAE Emirates manager Mauro Gianetti, updates his statistics: 105 victories, 1 Giro d’Italia (2024), 4 Tour de France (2020, 2021, 2024, 2025), 2 Tours of Flanders (2023 and 2025), 3 Liège-Bastogne-Liège (2021, 2024, 2025), 4 consecutive Tours of Lombardy since 2021, 3 Strade Bianche (2022, 2024, and 2025), 2 Flèche Wallonne (2023 and 2025), plus 6 stages in the Giro and 20 days in the pink jersey, 21 stages in the Tour and 49 yellow jerseys. Plus an amazing second place on his debut in Paris-Roubaix (!), slowed down by a crash on a bend when he was in the lead with Van der Poel. Now another challenge awaits him, in exactly one week’s time: the European Championships in France against Evenepoel and Vingegaard. Then there will still be room for an assault on his fifth consecutive Giro di Lombardia, a feat never achieved even by Coppi, who won it five times. Yes, one man in command, and his name is Tadej Pogacar. Like Coppi the Campionissimo, like Merckx the Cannibal. And we get to enjoy it live.
