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The first-ever Road World Championships in Africa have proven a lucrative edition for British Cycling so far. Zoe Backstedt, Britain’s only entry in the under-23 women’s time trial, came away with an emphatic gold, while three British riders finished in the top five of the junior road race – including new world champion Harry Hudson. Britain’s elite men, some of its most established stars, now have the chance to build on that success in the event’s blue-riband race. The squad will be led by Tom Pidcock, an all-rounder who recently proved his class at grand tour level with a third-place finish at the Vuelta a Espana; and Oscar Onley, a pure climber who finished fourth at this year’s Tour de France after a stellar race. They face a gruelling task. This World Championships has frequently been billed the hardest in history, with 5,500m of climbing to surmount. Kigali’s elevation – the Rwandan capital sits 1,500m above sea level – coupled with the hot, humid conditions only add to the difficulty. The route resembles a Spring Classic: 267.5km, with 15 laps of a circuit peppered with short, punchy climbs broken up by an extra 42.5km loop tackling the major ascent of Mont Kigali. It is a climber’s race, which suits both Onley and Pidcock. The latter has “recovered pretty well” from his exertions at the Vuelta, which took him to a career-first podium finish at a grand tour. In fact, he has possibly arrived in Rwanda “too fresh,” he told The Independent and other outlets ahead of Sunday’s main event. “I’ve never finished a grand tour in such good condition,” he said. “It’s a tricky balance to make sure I’m recovered but also training as well.” Onley meanwhile is “in a good space again” after his breakout run at the Tour de France. “Mentally after the Tour I was quite cooked to be honest, I had to take some time off and a bit of time to myself,” he said. “There’s a lot of attention around everything you’re doing for three, four weeks so that was quite a lot, but I had a good time away, and got back into training and a normal routine. All my focus was really on this weekend the whole time, so I’m looking forward to it.” The 22-year-old was Britain’s top finisher on last year’s course in Zurich, coming home in 16th place, and is among the major contenders this time around. “With an extra year of racing in the legs and training and the last few months, showing I can compete on these bigger days, I'm confident that I’m stronger than last year,” he said. “I gained a little bit more confidence after the Tour, I kind of know my place now [in the peloton].” The experience of racing in his first elite road race in Switzerland last year will stand Onley in good stead. He said: “Big one-day races in general, it’s really important to just keep riding and keep putting yourself in the position to be in the race because things change so fast when it gets over 230, 240k. “Last year I was probably on the wrong side of that. I put myself in a position to get a result quite early in the race, I just didn’t have the depth at that time to hold onto the top guys coming into the final couple of laps.” The fearsome elevation gain in Kigali is mitigated by the rest of the circuit, Onley said. “It’s a tricky one because the climbs are really hard but the rest of the circuit is quite wide roads, nothing too technical, and you can really recover then. It’s the conditions that affect the race more, the altitude and the heat. It’s really important to not go over your limit too early, especially in a race that’s 270k, you can really pay for it.” Unfortunately, while the gruelling terrain suits both Brits, it suits one man more: defending champion Tadej Pogacar, who will have extra motivation to retain his rainbow stripes after being passed by winner Remco Evenepoel in last Sunday’s time trial, and missing out on a medal by just one second. Pogacar himself cited Pidcock as a threat, telling the media in Rwanda that “he’s coming off a good Vuelta, so maybe he still has really good legs”. Pidcock was less bothered about engaging with the Slovenian race favourite. Asked how he expects Pogacar to attack the race, the Brit said: “I dunno, I’m not really bothered about wasting energy speculating on that. For sure, [after] what happened in the time trial, he will want to prove something on Sunday.” Onley took some positives from the prospect of facing Pogacar with his national teammates – which include five-time grand tour champion Primoz Roglic – rather than his all-conquering UAE Team Emirates-XRG trade team. “The dynamic changes a little bit, you’re not going to have UAE lining up on the front and just smashing it lap after lap!” But they, and Pogacar, remain the sternest of tests. “He’s a really class rider and he can adapt to any situation he’s put in – I think we saw that last year when he attacked with 100k to go, no one was expecting that. But it opens up more opportunities for us, and I think the more chaotic and the harder the race, it suits us better.” Having several cards to play is another boon for the British team. Onley said he “can learn a lot” from the more experienced Pidcock, with World Tour stalwart Fred Wright and climbers Joe Blackmore, James Knox, and Mark Donovan all strong domestiques. Bjorn Koerdt and Oliver Knight round out the eight-strong squad. Pidcock was bullish about their chances: “Of course we’re here to do well. I wouldn’t travel all the way to Africa if I didn’t think I could perform.” For Onley, who was often the only man to stick with Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard on the most brutal mountain stages at this year’s Tour, silverware in Rwanda would be the perfect end to a stellar season. “The overall goal of the team is to get a medal, whether that’s myself, Tom, Joe, anyone, but it would be really nice to get a medal for myself and cap off a really nice year. “But I think as long as I do a race that I'm proud of, if I can say I’ve given it everything on Sunday I can be satisfied with whatever comes from that.” Much has been made of the changing of the guard within British cycling, as giants like Geraint Thomas and Mark Cavendish retire and a new generation take up their mantle. That generation is getting younger and younger, with 18-year-old junior world champion Hudson the newest in a long line of talents. Onley said: “When he walked into the hotel earlier with the rainbow stripes it’s really motivating for all of us. It brings a bit more morale to the team and it’s a really exciting stage for British cycling, because these are all really young riders – it’s the same for the elite race as well, it’s quite a young team. “The fact that we have the riders and the chance to go for a really big result is exciting and really good to see for British cycling.” A chance to pick up silverware on Sunday, and disrupt Pogacar at his own party, would be a fine way to finish a golden week.
