The UCI Road World Championships arrive in Africa for the very first time this weekend.

After editions across Europe, America, Asia, and Oceania, the 2025 event heads to Rwanda – the “land of a thousand hills” – with its challenging roads winding through the Great Rift Valley in East Africa.

Cycling’s finest athletes will gather in Kigali, the Rwandan capital, for a full week of competition featuring 13 races. This year introduces a historic first: separate rainbow jerseys for Women Under 23 riders, both in the individual time trial (ITT) and the road race.

Stars to watch: Evenepoel, Dygert, Bäckstedt…

This year’s routes promise aggressive, open racing, combining solo power efforts with demanding climbs – a sharp contrast to the flatter 2024 edition in Zurich. Will this shake up the podium? Belgium’s Remco Evenepoel, double and defending UCI World Champion, thrives on steep gradients. In the Women Elite category, a new champion is guaranteed, as Australia’s 2024 title-holder Grace Brown retired at the end of last season.

BigMat is proud to be a partner of the UCI Road World Championships because cycling embodies values such as effort, perseverance, respect for the environment and innovation, values that we share at BigMat International.