{"id":55770,"date":"2025-09-27T16:55:59","date_gmt":"2025-09-27T16:55:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/pogacar-blown-away-by-rwanda-s-roads-and-passionate-fans\/"},"modified":"2025-09-27T16:58:32","modified_gmt":"2025-09-27T16:58:32","slug":"pogacar-blown-away-by-rwanda-s-roads-and-passionate-fans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/pogacar-blown-away-by-rwanda-s-roads-and-passionate-fans\/","title":{"rendered":"Poga\u010dar blown away by Rwanda\u2019s roads and passionate fans"},"content":{"rendered":"

In an interview with the media about preparations for the elite men\u2019s road race scheduled for Sunday, 28 September 2025, Poga\u010dar did not hold back in comparing the two events.<\/p>\n

Asked how he viewed the Rwanda championships compared to the 2024 edition in Australia, he said: \u201cThis is much better. Honestly, the layout of the roads here is ten times more challenging than in Australia. Please understand, I don\u2019t mean to disrespect the Australians who designed their course, but it just didn\u2019t feel as tough as this one.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 27-year-old, who won the 2024 UCI Road World Championships, said his preparations have gone well and he is determined to work with his teammates to reclaim the gold medal.<\/p>\n

\u201cI came here very motivated for the road race on Sunday. I have big ambitions and my legs are ready. We brought a strong team and believe we\u2019re among the top favorites. Our goals are clear, and the energy from the fans along the roads is incredible.\u201d<\/p>\n

He highlighted the overwhelming support already present even during training: \u201cSpectators fill the roads during training \u2014 it already feels like race day. The roads are in great condition. Yes, the weather is different from home, but that\u2019s fine. We were lucky to train on the outskirts of the city, it\u2019s beautiful and the air is fresh. It\u2019s good that the World Championships are coming to Africa too.\u201d<\/p>\n

Having just reclaimed the Tour de France title for the fourth time, the Slovenian rider shared insights about the Kigali course and the challenges it presents: \u201cThe roads I\u2019m focusing on include Mont Kigali and the cobblestones at Kwa Mutwe. The cobbles here are different from Belgium \u2014 these ones climb in a circular pattern, while others are sharper. But that\u2019s good; it adds to the difficulty of the race.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know why Mont Kigali is only included once and mid-race. We have plenty of other hills to play with, so it\u2019s fine. Overall, the course is great, and we\u2019re ready to compete.\u201d<\/p>\n

Poga\u010dar will lead Team Slovenia, joined by top riders such as Primo\u017e Rogli\u010d, Gal Glivar, Matev\u017e Govekar, Luka Mezgec, Matej Mohori\u010d, Domen Novak, Jaka Primo\u017ei\u010d, and Matic \u017dumer.<\/p>\n

They will face powerhouse teams including Belgium with Remco Evenepoel; Denmark with Casper Phillip Pedersen; Great Britain with Tom Pidcock; and strong competitors from 57 other countries in the 267.5-kilometer race.<\/p>\n

\"Cycling<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Cycling legend Tadej Poga\u010dar has praised the UCI Road World Championships in Kigali, describing them as ten times better than those held in Australia.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":62,"featured_media":2000095258,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[75],"byline":[170],"hashtag":[],"class_list":["post-55770","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-homenews","byline-igihe"],"bylines":[{"id":170,"name":"IGIHE","slug":"igihe","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":8}],"contributors":[{"id":170,"name":"IGIHE","slug":"igihe","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":8}],"featured_image":{"id":2000095258,"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/sd-4.jpg","alt":"","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","width":0,"height":0,"sizes":{"thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/sd-4.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"medium":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/sd-4.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"medium_large":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/sd-4.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"large":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/sd-4.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"full":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/sd-4.jpg","width":0,"height":0}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55770","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/62"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55770"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55770\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2000095258"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55770"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55770"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55770"},{"taxonomy":"byline","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/byline?post=55770"},{"taxonomy":"hashtag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hashtag?post=55770"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}