It wasn't that long ago that Kim Le Court-Pienaar could surf under the radar through the peloton in her pursuit of excellence in professional cycling, but that is no longer the case, with her career reaching new heights after a Monument victory at Liège-Bastogne-Liège and a stage win and stint in the yellow jersey at the Tour de France.
The Mauritian now heads into the historic 2025 Road World Championships, held for the first time in Africa, as a major favourite to win the rainbow jersey in the elite women's road race on Saturday in Kigali, Rwanda.
"I never used to be a favourite. It's not something I used to be in. I used to be the underdog, and I really liked it. It's funny because when I was the underdog, I wanted to be the favourite. Now that I'm a favourite, I want to be the underdog. The grass is never greener somewhere else," Le Court-Pienaar told select members of the media on Tuesday.
"I worked hard to be here and worked hard to be recognised, so it's nice to be recognised as a favourite. It comes with cons and pressure, but that is something I have to deal with. I have to let the legs do the talking, and hopefully my body responds well. Whatever the results, I can be proud that I am representing an African country at the World Championships in Africa."
Le Court-Pienaar will be one of three riders competing for Mauritius, an island in the Indian Ocean located near the southeastern coast of Africa, east of Madagascar, along with Lucie de Marigny-Lagesse and Aurelie Halbwachs as the elite women's peloton compete in 11 laps of a 15.1km city circuit, totalling 164.4km.
They will tackle 3,350 metres of elevation gain, with its highest point at 1,493 metres. There are also two climbs on the circuit: the Côte de Kigali Golf climb, 800m at 8.1% halfway around the local circuit, and the decisive Côte de Kimihurura climb, 1.3km at 6.3% on the circuit close to the finish, which is cobbled, and which some of the women will have already experienced in the individual time trial last Sunday.
However, Le Court-Pienaar said it was the 3,350 metres of elevation gain, altitude, heat, cobbled ascent, and somewhat poor air quality, along with local knowledge, that would call for a special type of rider who is confident, comfortable, and an exceptional climber, but also explosive and technically savvy.
While she said the course compares to a few of the Belgian and Ardennes Classics, she is choosing not to think too much about that and to treat it like a new race, and is ready for the surprises.
"If you compare too much, then you put yourself in a little bit of a box. I rode parts of the course and have seen parts of the course on apps and online, but it's a whole different thing to see it physically than on the computer. It's really gnarly, it's tough, the cobbles are difficult. It's similar to some races in Belgium; it's long, and for a lot of girls who did the ITT already, watching it on TV looked painful. Taking it as it comes is the best solution," Le Court-Pienaar said.
"The air is not as clean as what we are used to in Europe, and the heat wouldn't affect the riders too much because they would have done altitude and heat training preparation for these conditions. I don't think the issue, but I think it's those two – altitude and heat – combined with the air not being so clean, could affect a few riders.
"Everyone is about 20% less on power, which can be normal in these conditions. You never know what your body can produce on the day, and I'm not someone who looks at my numbers. I'll just go out there and see how the body feels. You might surprise yourself."
She only just arrived in Kigali on Monday, opting to continue her altitude training camp in Andorra until the last possible moment before making the trip to the Worlds.
She said much of her preparation was the same for the Tour de France. "I have high hopes of coming here to try to get the best results, for that, I believe that doing the right preparation at altitude and heat was what I did before coming here."
Le Court has already had a stunning season, highlighted by winning Liège-Bastogne-Liège and standing on the podium in four stages, winning stage 5 into Guéret and wearing the yellow jersey at the Tour de France. She has been on a steep trajectory over the last two seasons, turning heads last year with a stage win at the Giro d'Italia.
Her cycling started with two years, from 2015 to 2016, for Continental teams Matrix Fitness and Bizkaia-Durango, but after a period away from professional road racing, Le Court restarted things and joined the WorldTour with AG Insurance-Soudal, signing a contract from 2024 through to the end of 2028.
Le Court-Pienaar is one of Africa's best chances of winning a rainbow jersey at the historic edition. Given the difficulty of the course and her strengths as a rider, she has every chance of winning this race on the streets of Kigali.
"If I compare myself as an athlete from last year to this year, mentally I've grown a lot. I've grown in the path of believing in myself a bit more and believing that I belong here a bit more. I'm for sure, going into Worlds with some sort of confidence," she said.
"But going into a World Championships, you can never be fully confident; they come fully prepared, and the field is stacked. It's a race that everyone wants to win. But, of course, I wouldn't be lining up if I didn't want to win the jersey.
"I've also prepared the best that I could personally prepare, so it's a race I will give everything to get that jersey on my back. It's in Africa, so this is super special to my heart. It gives me more confidence to go to this World Championships, instead of if I had to prepare myself to go to last year's World Championships; it helps the results I've had, the confidence it gave me, the confidence that people have in me, I'm looking forward to Saturday."
Le Court-Pienaar believes the race will break apart quickly, possibly even on the first lap and envisions a group of about 30 riders competing for much of the later parts of the race. She will not have her usual support from AG Insurance-Soudal teammates, as many are racing for their respective nations, so she will need to freelance as much as possible.
"I'm going to ride like I ride on WorldTour in Europe, with confidence. I will try to slip into my [trade] teammates' trains from Belgium, Spain and Australia and act like I'm their teammate-kind-of-thing. It will have to be, unfortunately, what I have to do. I'll have to slip into some trains, and it will be a challenge, but I'm going to wing it," she said.
"I'll have to find a train that kind of accepts me, hang around, make a friend or two and talk to people in the bunch, but I think I'll just have to take it as it comes. I hope it will be a really hard race and break the bunch fast, so there are less numbers and less people to move around, which is easier at the end."
Although she has only been in Kigali for two days, she said she is enjoying the atmosphere, the crowds, and generally being in Africa. The 108 national teams participating across the categories in the time trial, mixed relay and road races were all given time to preview the 15.1km city circuit on closed roads on Wednesday morning, with music playing on loudspeakers along the route and local fans out to watch the riders warming up.
"The vibe is something I mentally knew and was prepared to come into; the chaos in town, the motorbikes everywhere and cars. It's honestly chaotic and hard to explain unless you are here to experience it. Mentally, I've done many races in Africa, in worse conditions and in worse places," Le Court-Pienaar said.
"Rwanda is a luxury in Africa, it's really nice here, really clean, the people are super nice, and it's well organised. They are probably the most friendly people I have ever met, just so happy. The Africans do things with their heart. They love life, and they don't do things for the money; they do things for the heart. I hope it opens up the European's eyes, humbles them and makes them grateful that their life is in Europe."
It's been more than a century since the inaugural Road Worlds, with the majority of them having been held across Europe and on rare occasions reaching North America, South America, Asia and Oceania, and so this edition in Africa is especially meaningful for Le Court-Pienaar.
"I never thought I would be here one day in Africa competing in Worlds for my country, which is part of Africa. It's a dream, amazing. I hope it goes well until Sunday, so that one day it can happen again in another African country. It's amazing. I don't have the words. It's exciting and a special moment for us."
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