There is history being made at the 2025 UCI Road World Championships, and not just that it is the first time to be held in Africa, but it is also the first time the under-23 women have standalone events, with Great Britain’s Zoe Bäckstedt claiming the rainbow jersey in the individual time trial on Monday with the next standalone event in the U23 women’s road race on Thursday.
There were 50 riders from 30 nations registered for the hilly 22.6km course in Kigali, a larger field than the elite women’s time trial held the previous day, won by Switzerland’s Marlen Reusser.
“It’s super cool to win here in our first separate time trial where we are not racing in the elite category. It’s a really cool step up that we are making in the sport, and also in the road races to be able to have our own separate category,” said Bäckstedt, 20, who also races for the Women’s WorldTeam Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto during the professional season.
Silver medallist Viktória Chladoňová, 18, from Slovakia, who races for Visma-Lease a Bike, is in her first year in the under-23 category, last year finishing second in the time trial and third in the road race as a junior at the Worlds in Zürich.
Although the standalone races would not have affected her in previous years, she said racing with the elite women’s category can be demanding, especially against riders like former Tour de France winner Demi Vollering from the Netherlands.
“It is special because I’m in my first year as an under-23 category, and I went into this race with no expectation, and I gave everything, so to come in second place, I am extremely happy. It is an unexpected second place for me,” she said.
“I think…
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