Your post-Worlds cycling news roundup, featuring a facts-and-figures look at Kigali’s big week, plus TT results from the European Championships, and a look at upcoming racing in France, Singapore and Indonesia.
TOP STORY:
- Worlds Week by the Numbers
Race News:
- World TT Champs Remco & Reusser Double Up in France
- Pogi, Jonas & Remco to Go Head-to-Head-to-Head in European Championships
- Sprinters Reign (So Far) at Tour de Langkawi
- Paris-Tours 2025 to Feature Revamped Parcours
- Milan and Philipsen to Bring their Sprinting Games to Tour de France EFGH Singapore Criterium 2025
Worlds Week by the Numbers
Our friends at the UCI shared a Worlds-by-the-Numbers feature. We’re happy to pass along some of the most interesting facts, figures and graphs here.
#1: Five nations tied for the most medals (4 each), but the Dutch win with quality (golds).
#2: Riders aged 16 to 43 years competed in the World Championships 
#3: Spanish cycling isn’t dead yet! Spain fielded the most athletes, followed by Australia and Italy. 
#4: The Elite Men’s Road Race was indeed brutally hard. 
#5: While a few riders and nations dominated the competition and the press, Worlds week is a broad, diverse event.
RACE NEWS
World TT Champs Remco & Reusser Double Up in France
Wednesday’s opening day of the 2025 European Road Championships in Drôme-Ardèche featured the individual time trials for all elite, under-23 and junior categories. The 24 km course from Loriol-sur-Drôme to Étoile-sur-Rhône hosted the elite time trials for both men and women.
In the women’s elite event, Marlen Reusser of Switzerland stamped her authority by winning in commanding fashion. Starting last among the 31 riders, she finished 49 seconds ahead of Norway’s Mie Bjørndal Ottestad, securing the European title. The fight for bronze was tight—Mischa Bredewold (Netherlands) edged Katrine Aalerud (Norway) by only 0.2 seconds.
On the men’s side, fellow World Champ Remco Evenepoel of Belgium delivered a dominant performance to take the European elite time trial crown. He clocked 28:26.36 over the 24 km, finishing 43.37 seconds ahead of Filippo Ganna (Italy). Danish rider Niklas Larsen stunned many by claiming the bronze medal. Meanwhile, British hopefuls Ethan Hayter and Joshua Tarling missed out on podium spots.
Pogi, Jonas & Remco to Go Head-to-Head-to-Head in European Championships
With time trials completed, the championships will now shift to team relay events tomorrow and the road races later in the week.
From 1st to 5th October, the roads of the Drôme and Ardèche departments in France will host the 2025 UEC Road European Championships, an event that has grown in stature in recent years. The entry lists across time trials and road races feature a host of champions who have made their mark on the recent history of world cycling.
In the Men’s Elite Road Race, one of the big favourites is Tadej Pogačar (Slovenia), four-time winner of the Tour de France and recent winner of the Road World Championships in Kigali (Rwanda), where he won his second consecutive rainbow jersey. Jonas Vingegaard (Denmark), winner of two Tours de France and the last Vuelta Espana, will also be at the start, ready to play his cards on a demanding course like the one in France.
Belgium will be relying on Remco Evenepoel, Olympic gold medallist in the Road race and Time Trial at the Paris 2024 Games and multiple world champion.
Portugal will field João Almeida, who finished on the podium in the recent Vuelta a España. Switzerland, meanwhile, will be led by Marc Hirschi, winner of the Flèche Wallonne and a stage of the Tour de France, known for his explosiveness in the most demanding finishes.
The men’s Time Trial will feature the great specialists of the discipline. As well as Evenepoel, Almeida and Ganna, French champion Bruno Armirail, Swiss riders Stefan Küng (multiple European champion and world medallist) and Stefan Bissegger will be in the line-up.
In the Elite Women’s Road Race, all eyes will be on Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (France), the athlete who won the Olympic cross-country title in 2024 at the Paris Games and who won Paris-Roubaix and the Tour de France in 2025. Italy will be counting on Elisa Longo Borghini, winner of Paris-Roubaix and the Giro d’Italia Femminile, as well as a medallist at the World and European Championships.
For the Netherlands, Anna van der Breggen, former Olympic and world champion and multiple winner of the Giro Rosa, is back in the game after an extraordinary career. For Switzerland, there will be Marlene Reusser, European champion and Olympic medallist in the Time Trial, one of the best specialists in the world.
In the women’s Time Trial, world champion Reusser will face Cédrine Kerbaol, French Time Trial champion, and Juliette Labous, both ready to shine in front of their home crowd, as well as Anna Kiesenhofer (Austria), who won the Olympic Road race title in Tokyo 2021 with a legendary solo effort.
eTrashMike sez: I happened to find myself at the Doha airport after a massively delayed flight from Kigali, standing alongside several European pro riders. If you want to know whom to bet against after having to stand and wait for long periods of time before finally being rebooked to France…message me!
Tim Merlier stole the 2024 European Road Race Championships.
Sprinters Reign (So Far) at Tour de Langkawi
The 2025 Petronas Le Tour de Langkawi has opened with three straight days of fireworks, and the early script has been dominated by the sprinters.
On the opening day in Kuah, Matteo Malucelli of XDS Astana wasted no time stamping his authority. He powered through the final meters to beat Eriend Blikra and Arvid De Kleijn, securing both the yellow and green jerseys in one swoop. For Malucelli, it was the perfect launch to his Malaysian campaign.
Stage 2 brought redemption for De Kleijn. After a frustrating first day, the Dutchman of Tudor Pro Cycling reminded everyone of his finishing speed, timing his sprint to perfection in Kepala Batas. Malucelli had to settle for minor placings, but the rivalry between the two was already shaping the narrative of the week.
By Stage 3, Malucelli struck again. On the long run from Gerik to Pasir Puteh, he edged past Alexander Kristoff, a seasoned star with victories across the calendar, to retake control of the race.
Three days in, the race has been defined by fast men, but the script is about to flip. With Fraser’s Hill looming, the general classification contenders will soon have their chance to dislodge Malucelli’s grip on yellow.
Paris-Tours 2025 to Feature Revamped Parcours
The 119th edition of Paris-Tours, the season’s final showdown among the classics specialists, will take place on October 12. Nine climbs, as well as nine vineyard tracks, are spread across the final third of the race, with the finish altered to bring the line closer to these final challenges. After the Avenue de Grammont, which had hosted the finish since 1988, the last pedal strokes will now be ridden on Boulevard Béranger, still just steps away from Tours City Hall.
Typically a victory in Tours crowns both the rider’s ability to hold peak form until the final weekend of the year and the determination to seize the decisive moment. Once a favored hunting ground for pure sprinters, the race took on a new dimension in 2018 with the introduction of vineyard tracks, adding layers of physical and tactical complexity. While a sharp sprint remains crucial at the finish, race craft must also shine on the climbs and unpaved roads that dominate the final 70 kilometers.
The 2024 version was taken by Christophe Laporte (Visma | Lease A Bike) in his first victory since September 2023, and the third home win in four years for the event. The French rider won a sprint after a long breakaway in rainy and muddy conditions.
Milan and Philipsen to Bring their Sprinting Games to Tour de France EFGH Singapore Criterium 2025
On November 2, Singapore will, for the fourth year in a row, welcome riders from the 112th edition of the Tour de France for an urban criterium in the heart of the Lion City.
The spotlight will be on the sprinters, especially green jersey winner Jonathan Milan, who will once again face Jasper Philipsen in Asia, the 2023 points classification winner.
Italian Milan (Lidl-Trek) left a lasting mark on his maiden Tour de France, storming to victory in Laval (Stage 8) and Valence (Stage 17) before sealing the points classification with authority. In Singapore, he will have the opportunity to showcase his hard-earned green jersey for the first time on Asian roads.
For Belgian speedster Philipsen of Alpecin-Deceuninck, Singapore has almost become a second home. The most loyal of the peloton to the event, he has raced all three previous editions and triumphed in 2023, fresh from his own green jersey conquest — though in 2024, it was Mark Cavendish who won, sealing his remarkable career with a final victory.
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