British Cycling

September 28, 2025

PIDCOCK TAKES TOP 10 IN BRUTAL ELITE MEN’S ROAD RACE AT THE 2025 UCI ROAD WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

—- In a brutal 267.5km road race, Pidcock delivered and impressive ride to be well in the mix of podium contenders, taking 10^th place overall as Tadej Pogaçar took a second consecutive title.

As predicted, the first half of the race was a total war of attrition. While some riders took a punt at an early attack and a three-man break managed to get away, the majority stayed together as teams, trying to conserve energy for the race ahead of them.

The first couple of laps saw some early casualties as Julian Alaphilippe (France) retired early, while an unfortunate touch of wheels saw GB’s Bjorn Koerdt taken down and unable to continue.

As the first set of laps rolled on, Pidcock who had initially looked to be struggling, was pulled back into the group by Fred Wright and quickly found his rhythm. Oli Knight and James Knox retired from the race around the halfway point, while the rest of the team continued to fuel, held the pace and supported the team’s other protected rider, Oscar Onley.

As expected, after nine laps of the main circuit, the race lit up on the greatly anticipated 6km Mur de Kigali climb. Having flogged their way up the 6% gradient and over the staggering 20% kicker, Tadej Pogaçar (Slovenia) took his opportunity and attacked hard off the front of the group. Jumping on his wheel were Isaac del Toro (Mexico) and Juan Ayuso (Spain) and the trio rode clear with 100km to go.

An initial chase group of including Jai Hindley (Australia), Primoz Roglic (Slovenia), and Richard Carapaz (Ecuador)took formation, as the leading trio took 43 seconds. Understanding the threat of letting Pogaçar getaway this early, more riders committed to reeling him back and a second chase group of 8-10 riders formed, this time including time-trial world champion Remco Evenepoel (Belgium) and Great Britain’s medal hope, Tom Pidcock.

In the midst of the raucous crowds, the chase was on as Ayuso was dropped and the remaining duo extended their lead to almost a minute over the next kilometre. Meanwhile behind them, the two chase groups had merged into one large chase of 34.

Having worked hard to protect the team leaders and get Pidcock away, Blackmore and Wright’s job was done for the day and they retired from the race. Onley and Donovan continued to plug away a minute or so behind in the next group.

In the final 75km more drama unfolded as Evenepoel had an emergency bike change, Healy made multiple attack attempts and having lost steam a few times, del Toro finally blew up, leaving Pogaçar in yet another solo effort.

With 60km to go, having used a small group to bring him back, Evenepoel joined the chase group but steamed right through, breaking it up and taking Tom Pidcock, Healy, Hindley and Mattias Skjelmose (Denmark) along with him.

With Pogaçar over a minute ahead and the kms running out, the team worked tirelessly together to try and challenge the defending champion. Meanwhile, Onley had no more in the tank and left the race, alongside teammate Donovan.

At three laps to go, the pace continued to increase in an attempt to bridge the gap, which proved too much for Hindley. Pidcock pushed hard and put in a valiant effort but the legs just weren’t there today and he fell out of the group, effectively saying goodbye to the podium.

Heading into the final push, just 31 riders remained out of an initial 169, after almost 5,400m of climbing in the heat.

With 20km to go, Evenepoel made his decisive move in his bid for silver, leaving Healy and Skjelmose potentially sprinting for third. But Healy took control with 5km to go and powered off the front, leaving Skjelmose with nothing more to give.

In a sensational solo 60km effort, Tadej Pogaçar took a back-to-back rainbow jersey, with Evenepoel and Healy coming in second and third respectively.

Pidcock crossed the line in a group, taking 10^th place.

On today’s race, Pidcock said: “To be honest, I didn’t feel so good at the start. Then I started coming round into the race, then I just completely blew, and it was survival to the finish. It was absolutely brutal.

At one point when it was the five of us behind Tadej, I thought anything is possible now then the legs fell off. I did my best like I said I would.”

Great Britain finishes the 2025 UCI Road World Championships with two gold medals, and second in the medal table.

On Great Britain’s performance overall, Performance Director Stephen Park CBE said: “For this course we had to pick the right riders at the right development stage and it’s been a coming of age for some young talent that have been through our pathway and developed into WorldTour.

“It’s been brilliant to see riders committed to pulling on the jersey and fully investing in riding for their nation. On the wider team, I’m really proud of how everyone has approached this championships. The vibe in camp has been positive and calm, and the support team have done a fantastic job of creating the best possible platform for our riders to deliver.

“There was some apprehension coming into this but it’s been a fantastic and historic week and I’m really proud of how all of our riders have leant into the racing and wider culture here in Rwanda. We’ve witnessed the emergence of Great Britian’s future talents and continued to deliver great performances across the board; it’s been a very successful trip.”

– ENDS –

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Contact details:  

Emma Hope, Head of Communications 

+44 (0) 7384 214079

emmahope@britishcycling.org.uk

Ellie Stott, Great Britain Cycling Team Communications Manager 

+44 (0) 7718 570341 

elliestott@britishcycling.org.uk  

Gareth Burrell, Communications and PR Manager

+44 (0) 7718 394386

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 Will Kirkpatrick, Communications and PR Officer