Worlds 2025: five challengers with the power to test Pogacar and Evenepoel?
Few races carry the same mystique as the World Championships road race. The rainbow jersey is both prize and burden, coveted by all and conquered by few. Obviously there are two main protagonists for the race, Tadej Pogačar and Remco Evenepoel, but there are others who might have the power to trouble them.
1. Michael Storer (Australia)
Michael Storer has enjoyed a brilliant 2025 season in the black and red of Swiss outfit Tudor Pro Cycling. The 28-year-old from Perth, Western Australia has collected standout victories, including a stage at Paris-Nice and the overall title at the Tour of the Alps.
He has also come close on several occasions at the Giro d’Italia and Tour de France to adding to his Grand Tour tally, which already includes two Vuelta a España stage wins from 2021.
Storer thrives when conditions turn demanding, relishing tough, attritional races of the kind the World Championships often produce. While he has yet to make a major impact at the Worlds, he arrives this year in peak form, fresh from a strong run through the Italian autumn classics that included victory at the Memorial Marco Pantani.
2. Ben Healy (Ireland)
Ben Healy enjoyed a spell in yellow at the Tour de France in July, showcasing the kind of trademark performances that could also shape his World Championships bid.
Like Storer, Healy relishes brutal, grinding races, his distinctive hunched style over the bike a familiar sight in those conditions.
The Irishman will look to improve on his strong 7th-place finish in 2024, achieved after an exhausting day of racing. That kind of effort suits his diesel engine.
After a short break following the Tour, Healy sharpened his form at the Skoda Tour of Luxembourg in preparation for the challenge that awaits in Rwanda.
3. Julian Alaphilippe (France)
It would be quite something if Julian Alaphilippe were to claim a third rainbow jersey in the road race, a victory that would cement his status as a legend of French cycling and of the sport as a whole.
Alaphilippe has been there or thereabouts in 2025, true to his trademark style. In the Canadian classics he won the Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec, attacking from a small group and powering to the line, glancing repeatedly over his shoulder as only he does.
His aim now is to put behind him the misfortune of the last three World Championships, with DNFs in 2024 and 2023 and a 51st place in Wollongong in 2022. He will be supported by a strong French team that includes Pavel Sivakov and the young Paul Seixas, who already carries big expectations on his shoulders.
4. Isaac del Toro (Mexico)
Isaac del Toro has been on an absolute stormer towards the end of 2025, with the Mexican simply unable to stop winning races, winning all but one of the Italian races in which he participated in, in the lead-up to the World Championships.
In Rwanda he will line up against one of his idols and UAE teammate Tadej Pogačar, with team dynamics something to watch. Yet it seems unlikely those dynamics will have much bearing on the outcome.
If Del Toro can challenge riders of the calibre of Pogačar and Evenepoel, it would provide a solid foundation for future bids to wear the rainbow jersey.
5. Quinn Simmons (United States)
Quinn Simmons rounded off his build-up to the World Championships with third place at the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal, finishing behind Brandon McNulty and Tadej Pogačar.
In Rwanda his aim will be a podium finish, though the sheer amount of climbing metres on the course is bound to influence the outcome.
For Simmons, if he is able to follow the right move, as in these races there are a flurry of them, then Simmons has the potential to thrive. Don't also rule him out from attempting an audacious attack from far, but many riders will have marked out Simmons for this potential.
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