The Junior Women race the 18.3km individual time trial in Kigali on Tuesday morning for the 2025 UCI Road World Championships and the final stretch up the cobbled Côte de Kimihurura tips the scales in favour of 'experienced' young riders.
Erin Boothman leads the way as top contenders for a field of 45 junior women. The current junior TT national champion for Great Britain looks to build on the success from last year, where Cat Ferguson won the gold and Imogen Wolff secured the bronze, both riders having moved to the U23 division.
With a Nations Cup victory in Spain followed by a win at the women's junior Gent-Wevelgem this year, Boothman most recently took two gold medals at the UCI Junior Track World Championships. She aims to add to her resume while in Kigali.
Speaking of Gent-Wevelgem, 18-year-old Dutch rider Megan Arens (Netherlands) finished as runner-up in a two-up sprint against Boothman at that race, and the duo are likely to meet again on the podium at the World Championships.
Arens is the reigning women's junior ITT champion for the Netherlands and also took a Nations Cup victory from March. The Kigali time trial will be her 20th road race of the season, and she looks for her eighth podium.
USA's Lidia Cusack could join the leading duo on the podium, as the former US junior time trial champion in 2024 has exhibited top form in Europe this summer, winning the junior race at Druivenkoers-Overijse and going fourth overall at the hilly Nations Cup Bizkaikoloreak in Spain.
Cusack is very familiar with international competition, riding to fifth at the Cyclocross World Championships in February and she was 11th in the junior race at last year's Worlds in the ITT at 16 years of age.
Last year's silver medalist Viktória Chladoňová (Slovakia) is still 18 but the Visma-Lease a Bike pro won the women's elite ITT and road race at road nationals, so will compete at the U23 event in Kigali. The podium is wide open for the taking.
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