Julian Alaphilippe (France) has become the first high-profile abandon of the elite men’s road race in the 2025 World Championships on Sunday.
The former double World Champion quit the race after just 31 kilometres of racing.
Victory in the GP de Québec, his first in over a year, preceded an abandon in the GP de Montréal, his previous race to the World Championships in Kigali.
Marc Soler (Spain) and Ilan van Wilder (Belgium) abandon
Shortly after Alaphilippe was confirmed as quitting, a high-speed downhill crash at the rear of the peloton saw several riders go down, including Ilan van Wilder (Belgium) and Spain’s Marc Soler.
A bronze medallist in the time trial earlier this week and viewed as a potential outside challenger in the road race, Van Wilder tried to continue, shaking his wrist in pain, but finally had to pull out. Soler had already opted for a more immediate abandon, while Bjoern Koerdt (GB) was another of the crash victims who had to quit.
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