'I think I’m the world champ in the 70 kilos plus category' - Skujins takes pride in fifth at Worlds

Afterwards, Skujiņš described the day in stark terms, speaking to Eurosport. “It was a triathlon in the end. Everybody finished by themselves. It was always going to be a very hard race,” he said, reflecting on how selective the course had been and how much attrition it caused.

The difficulty of the course was reflected in the small number of finishers (30), and Skujinš noted how little he had actually seen of the action around him. “I didn’t see much,” he admitted with a laugh, “but clearly Tadej [Pogačar] was on a level. Not many have the legs to follow him, and he just showed again that he’s the best in the world.”

Once Skujinš found himself in the group he would spend most of the race with, he focused on doing everything possible to remain competitive. A medal had been his goal beforehand, but the pace of the front of the race and the relentless climbing soon made that impossible. 

“Once I was in the group where I was, I tried to do the best I can, but all the medals were gone unfortunately,” he said.

Even so, the Latvian took some satisfaction from the company he kept. In the top ten, he was surrounded almost exclusively by pure climbers, riders who specialise in the kind of terrain that Kigali offered in abundance. “I think I’m the world champ in the 70 kilos plus category, so I’ll take that,” he joked, showing his trademark sense of humour despite his exhaustion.

At the finish line, Skujinš looked emotional, but he quickly dismissed the idea that he was overcome by anything other than fatigue. “No, I’m just tired,” he said with a laugh. “But it was a good race anyway.”

With his fifth place in Kigali, following a fourth place in Zurich last year, and an eighth place in Glasgow in 2023, Skujiņš is beginning to build a reputation as a Worlds rider. Few have shown such consistency on cycling’s biggest one-day stage, and the 2026 course in Montreal should suit him even better. There, the Latvian will have another opportunity to turn his resilience and strength into the much-desired medal.