After a week's racing in Rwanda, the UCI Road World Championships head into their final weekend with the two blue ribbon events: the women's and men's elite road races.
The women's race comes first, scheduled for this Saturday 27 September, and will see 104 riders from 44 nations competing around the streets of Kigali.
The route for the race comprises 11 laps of a local circuit, with a jagged, sawtooth profile, looping over the Côte de Kigali Golf (0.8km at 8.3%) and the cobbled Côte de Kimihurura (1.3km at 6.3%). The riders will tackle 3,350m of elevation in total, the most of any women's road race at the Worlds in the professional era.
The winner of the last two editions, Belgium's Lotte Kopecky, will not defend her title in Rwanda. "She's not convinced she's 100% ready. It's largely a mental issue," national coach Ludwig Willems told WielerFlits earlier this month.
Last week, Kopecky suffered vertebral fractures in her back, meaning she will also miss October's UCI Track World Championships.
In the absence of the defending champion, there is guaranteed be a change in hands of the rainbow jersey in Kigali, with a number of contenders plotting their bids.
Due to the challenging course, eyes will be on the peloton's best climbers, namely Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift champion Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (France), Vuelta Femenina winner Demi Vollering (Netherlands), and last year's Tour winner Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney (Poland).
Great Britain decided not to field a team in the event. The squad selectors instead chose to prioritise the under-23 women's race, which was won by France's Célia Gery on Thursday.
The full start list, including each rider's bib number and country, is listed below.
For more information about the course, head over to our route guide.
Want to follow the race live? Find out your streaming options through our how-to-watch page.
Women's elite road race start list
Bib number |
Rider |
Country |
|---|---|---|
1 |
Marieke Meert |
Belgium |
3 |
Julie Van de Velde |
Belgium |
4 |
Margot Vanpachtenbeke |
Belgium |
5 |
Femke de Vries |
Netherlands |
6 |
Yara Kastelijn |
Netherlands |
7 |
Riejanne Markus |
Netherlands |
8 |
Pauliena Rooijakkers |
Netherlands |
9 |
Shirin van Anrooij |
Netherlands |
10 |
Anna van der Breggen |
Netherlands |
11 |
Demi Vollering |
Netherlands |
12 |
Francesca Barale |
Italy |
13 |
Eleonora Gasparrini |
Italy |
14 |
Elisa Longo Borghini |
Italy |
15 |
Barbara Malcotti |
Italy |
16 |
Soraya Paladin |
Italy |
17 |
Silvia Persico |
Italy |
18 |
Monica Trinca Colonel |
Italy |
19 |
Ginia Caluori |
Switzerland |
20 |
Elise Chabbey |
Switzerland |
21 |
Jasmin Liechti |
Switzerland |
22 |
Marlen Reusser |
Switzerland |
23 |
Noemi Rüegg |
Switzerland |
24 |
Léa Curinier |
France |
25 |
Pauline Ferrand-Prévot |
France |
26 |
Cédrine Kerbaol |
France |
27 |
Juliette Labous |
France |
28 |
Marie Le Net |
France |
29 |
Évita Muzic |
France |
30 |
Maeva Squiban |
France |
31 |
Marta Lach |
Poland |
32 |
Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney |
Poland |
33 |
Karolina Perekitko |
Poland |
34 |
Mireia Benito |
Spain |
35 |
Mavi García |
Spain |
36 |
Alicia González Blanco |
Spain |
37 |
Sara Martín |
Spain |
38 |
Usoa Ostolaza |
Spain |
39 |
Ana Santesteban |
Spain |
40 |
Chloé Dygert |
United States |
41 |
Ruth Edwards |
United States |
42 |
Niamh Fisher-Black |
New Zealand |
43 |
Ella Wyllie |
New Zealand |
44 |
Franziska Koch |
Germany |
45 |
Liane Lippert |
Germany |
46 |
Antonia Niedermaier |
Germany |
47 |
Katrine Aalerud |
Norway |
48 |
Sigrid Ytterhus Haugset |
Norway |
49 |
Brodie Chapman |
Australia |
50 |
Lauretta Hanson |
Australia |
51 |
Alexandra Manly |
Australia |
52 |
Ruby Roseman-Gannon |
Australia |
53 |
Amanda Spratt |
Australia |
54 |
Olivia Baril |
Canada |
55 |
Emilie Fortin |
Canada |
56 |
Alison Jackson |
Canada |
57 |
Laury Milette |
Canada |
58 |
Magdeleine Vallieres |
Canada |
59 |
Carina Schrempf |
Austria |
60 |
Lucie de Marigny - Lagesse |
Mauritius |
61 |
Aurelie Halbwachs |
Mauritius |
62 |
Kim Le Court Pienaar |
Mauritius |
63 |
Urška Žigart |
Slovenia |
64 |
Paula Patiño |
Colombia |
65 |
Diana Peñuela |
Colombia |
66 |
Minke Solbjørk Anderson |
Denmark |
68 |
S’annara Grove |
South Africa |
69 |
Maude Le Roux |
South Africa |
70 |
Ashleigh Moolman Pasio |
South Africa |
71 |
Caroline Andersson |
Sweden |
72 |
Blanka Vas |
Hungary |
73 |
Diane Ingabire |
Rwanda |
74 |
Violette Irakoze Neza |
Rwanda |
75 |
Xaveline Nirere |
Rwanda |
76 |
Valentine Nzayisenga |
Rwanda |
77 |
Yuliia Biriukova |
Ukraine |
78 |
Olha Kulynych |
Ukraine |
79 |
Yanina Kuskova |
Uzbekistan |
80 |
Wing Yee Leung |
Hong Kong |
81 |
Varvara Fasoi |
Greece |
82 |
Teniel Campbell |
Trinidad and Tobago |
83 |
Lilibeth Chacon Garcia |
Venezuela |
84 |
Luyao Zeng |
China |
85 |
Hao Zhang |
China |
86 |
Brhan Abrha |
Ethiopia |
87 |
Haftu Reda |
Ethiopia |
88 |
Serkalem Watango |
Ethiopia |
89 |
Yulduz Hashimi |
Afghanistan |
90 |
Jasmin Soto Lopez |
Guatemala |
91 |
Akpeiil Ossim |
Kazakhstan |
92 |
Faina Potapova |
Kazakhstan |
93 |
Namukasa Trinitah |
Uganda |
94 |
Hermionne Ahouissou |
Benin |
95 |
Rainatou Kpovihouede |
Benin |
96 |
Romina Hinojosa Cruz |
Mexico |
97 |
Nancy Akinyi |
Kenya |
98 |
Monica Kiplagat |
Kenya |
99 |
Kendra Tabu |
Kenya |
100 |
Jamila Abdullah |
Tanzania |
101 |
Anta Ndiaye |
Senegal |
102 |
Dodo Humberto Ié |
Guinea-Bissau |
103 |
Lobopo Kono |
Botswana |
104 |
Natalia Frolova |
AIN |
105 |
Mamadama Bangoura |
Guinea |
106 |
Najma Najma |
Comoros |
