Lorenzo Finn fires to the Men's U23 Road Race rainbow jersey

Day six of the UCI Road World Championships was another showcase for the talent of the future. With the junior races concluded in the morning, it was time for one of the most highly anticipated events, the men’s under-23 road race.

The course awaiting the riders was 164.6 kilometres long and featured 3,350 metres of elevation around Kigali.

The under-23 road race began with a breakaway of Michal Pomorski (Poland), Mohammed Alaleeli (UAE), Danylo Kozoriz (Ukraine) and Ramazan Yilmaz (Turkey). Alaleeli was dropped not long after, and the remaining trio were caught with 153 kilometres to go.

For much of the opening part, Team Belgium controlled proceedings, with the tall Tim Rex setting the pace. As the tempo increased, the race became brutally hard and several riders abandoned.

With just over 90 kilometres to go, Marco Schrettl (Austria) attempted an audacious move, which was quickly followed by Jarno Widar (Belgium). A flurry of attacks came shortly after, as Jasper Schoofs (Belgium) and Pietro Mattio (Italy) escaped for a short spell.

The flurry of attacks continued over the next tens of kilometres, with another move from Widar as he kept burning his and the Belgian team’s matches.

With 37 kilometres to go, world junior road race champion Lorenzo Finn (Italy) tried the first of his accelerations. His decisive move came 32 kilometres from the line, when only Jan Huber (Switzerland) could cling to the wheel of the Italian, hanging on by a thread.

Behind Finn and Huber, the chase was scattered across the course. Riders like 2025 Giro Next Gen winner Jakob Omrzel (Slovenia) and Widar sat in a group a minute back, but the gap remained stable as the race entered the final kilometres.

The situation of Finn and Huber out front competing for the under-23 rainbow jersey became a foregone conclusion, with the duo set to engage in a mighty duel on the streets of Kigali.

On the steep slopes of the Côte de Kimihurura, Finn launched his final attack. Huber was unable to follow the stinging acceleration as the Italian powered clear for glory. Huber chased in vain, while behind them the battle for bronze turned into a thriller as Marco Schrettl (Austria) made a decisive move.

Finn delivered a masterclass of attacking prowess in the final kilometres, holding off the determined Huber who finished second, with Schrettl completing the podium.