President Paul Kagame has thanked those involved in the smooth running of the UCI Kigali2025 World Cycling Championships, as they have written unforgettable history worldwide.
It has been eight days since Rwanda hosted the UCI World Cycling Championships, which took place from September 21-28 in the city of Kigali. The event, which attracted over 100 countries from around the world, was the first to be held in Africa in over a century.
This Championship was attended by various cycling giants, with Slovenian Tadej Pogačar once again cementing his dominance as the king of men’s cycling.
Pogačar won the Road Race, beating Belgian Remco Evenepoel by one minute and 28 seconds.
Tis Slovenian was awarded the Gold Medal by President Paul Kagame.
After the competition, via his X website, the Head of State thanked those who contributed to making this competition unforgettable.
He said, “Rwanda is proud to have hosted the World Cycling Championships. I thank all the athletes who persevered in our Capital for their outstanding results and perseverance.”
He added, “I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my friend, David Lappartient, the UCI staff, our partners, the security forces who helped ensure the race was held on safe roads, and the efforts of the Rwandan people who supported us, making the UCI World Cycling Championships in Kigali truly unforgettable.”
On the evening before the final day of the UCI, which was attended by President Kagame, Lappartient thanked Rwanda for going above and beyond expectations.
He said, “The City of Kigali has not only done what we expected, but has gone above and beyond. The cycling community has felt the love for Rwanda this week.”
The 2025 UCI World Championships were followed by crowds of fans lining the streets of Kigali as the riders raced. More than 300 million people also followed the event on social media and various media outlets around the world.
This championship, organized by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), was played in 13 categories for women and men, concluding with the senior men’s road race.
Various categories were participated in, including the women’s under-23 tournament, which was held on September 22, the first time it had been held in the 104 years since the tournament began.
In addition to the world number one in cycling, Tadej Pogačar, other big names in cycling participated in this Championship, including Belgian Evenepoel Remco; Danish Casper Phillip Pedersen; Englishman Pidcock Thomas and others.
The next UCI World Championships are scheduled to be held in Montreal, Canada, from September 20 to 27, 2026.
BY: The Times Union
