RIDER RUNDOWN: UCI Road World Championships

The climbing, cobbles, and altitude of the World Championship course around the Rwandan capital, Kigali opens up the field to a host of riders.

With 11 laps, 164.6km and roughly 3,350m of vertical, the course promises punchy attacks, long grinds, and technical terrain – a “sufferfest” to say the least.

Alice Jackson gives the lowdown on five riders to watch.

Kimberley Le Court-Pienaar – Mauritius

Hailing from a mountain-bike background, Mauritius’s Kim Le Court has had to work hard for years to see results on the tarmac.

It all came together for the AG Insurance-Soudal Team rider this year, who stormed past 2023 Tour de France winner Demi Vollering in the final 500m of the Belgian one-day race, Liège-Bastogne-Liège, to take the biggest victory of her career.

But the most significant milestone was yet to come for the 29-year-old. Three months later, Le Court became the first African woman to wear the yellow jersey at the Tour de France Femmes.

From overcoming a malaria scare, to almost abandoning her road racing career, and later emailing WorldTour teams to ask for a contract, Le Court’s path to pro is a story of grit and determination that will no doubt feature in her performance next week.

Imogen Wolff – Great Britain

When the 19-year-old signed her contract with Visma-Lease a Bike, she envisaged herself sticking to mainly low-level races for her maiden WorldTour season. Fast forward six months, and Yorkshire-born Wolff was lining up for her Tour de France Femmes debut as the youngest rider in the peloton. Not only that, but she was part of the team that supported Pauline Ferrand-Prévot to her historic victory.

The multi-disciplined Brit has been turning heads in the big leagues, winning her first elite stage at Vuelta a Extremadura from a field containing Grand Tour stage winners.

With junior world titles on the track, a junior British time trial championship, and a podium finish in the World Champs junior time trial to her name, Wolff is bound to deliver in the U23 race – which is being separated entirely from the elite women’s for the first time.

Diane Ingabire – Rwanda

A stalwart member of CANYON//SRAM’s WorldTour development team, the young Rwandan rider represents the talent to be showcased by the competition’s host nation.

A gold medal at the African Continental Championships, Commonwealth Games and World Championships appearances, not to mention an Olympic debut in Paris made for a dreamy 2024 season for the 24-year-old. She also claimed the GC (general classification) of the Tour du Burundi Feminin in 2023, after podiuming in all five stages.

Ingabire is familiar with the chaos of the pro peloton, having just finished her third season on the European circuit. She’ll certainly be well-versed in tackling the terrain in the ‘Land of A Thousand Hills’ and will thrive on the course – which is suited to a hard, one-day racer.

Brodie Chapman – Australia

“It’s not crazy to aim for the World Championship stripes,” said the Aussie in an interview with Cycling News, after claiming the ITT national title back in January.

Such is the fiery determination of the 33-year-old UAE rider, who took the prize for the most combative rider on the longest stage of this year’s Tour.
Chapman showed off her lightning speed with a string of impressive time trial performances last year, including third at the Giro and second at the Thüringen Ladies Tour and Vuelta Extremadura. She’ll definitely be one to watch on Sunday’s TT circuit.

Tsige Kahsay Kiros – Ethiopia

From the WCCA talent identification camp in South Africa to the UCI World Cycling Centre’s ‘Africa 2025’ programme, the young rider is making history for her country as she carves her way onto the world stage.

“She’s incredible. I have not seen an African junior go like this” said UCI World Cycling Centre Performance Director Clint Hendricks to Global Peleton about the 18-year-old Ethiopian.

Kahsay Kiros went head-to-head with the elites at l’Avenir Femmes, finishing 22nd on GC in a fiercely competitive field – a remarkable result for her first UCI race in Europe. Back at home, she holds the national title and won the GC at the Tour Tigrai after claiming victory in four out of five stages.

The rising star is a force to be reckoned with in the junior race.

Watch the UCI Road World Championships on BBC and TNT Sports:

21 September: Elite Women’s ITT (9:10-11:55 BST)
22 September: U23 Women’s ITT (9:35-11:45 BST)
25 September: U23 Women’s Road Race (12:05-15:30 BST)
27 September: Elite Women’s Road Race (11:05-15:45 BST)

You can also read about Uganda’s first female professional cyclist, Florence Nakagwa, here: https://thenewwomenssportmagazine.com/ugandas-breakout-cycling-star/