Junior and U23 Men Battle the Kigali Circuit at the 2025 UCI Road World Championships

The Junior and Under-23 Men lined up for their road races today at the 2025 UCI Road World Championships. Kigali’s fans once again delivered an electric atmosphere as riders battled the altitude and African heat, making for fast, aggressive, and exciting racing.

Five Junior Men took to the starting line this morning for the 119km race, covering eight laps of the Kigali circuit and climbing nearly 2,500 meters. Representing Team USA were Ashlin Barry (Toronto, Ont.; JEGG - SKIL - DJR), Beckam Drake (Amarillo, Tex.; Hill’s Sport Shop), Braden Reitz (Carmel, Ind.; Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Newgen), Enzo Hincapie (Greenville, S.C.; EF Education-ONTO), and Kashus Adamski (Bloomfield, Mich.; Hot Tubes Cycling).

An early attack from Loic Schertenleib (SUI) and Heimo Fugger (AUT) pushed the pace. Not long after, Team USA’s Drakebridged across the 30-second gap with 87km to go. Six kilometers later, Nicholas van der Merwe (BUL) joined, creating a four-rider lead group.

Several riders attempted to follow, splintering the peloton, but the gap extended to over a minute. At 76km to go, the lead group fractured on the Kimihurura Climb, with the original attackers Schertenleib and Fugger dropped. As the riders completed lap three, Drake and van der Merwe powered on, averaging 41kph through the opening hour.

With five laps remaining, their advantage grew to 1:40 over the peloton, while the dropped riders and a six-man chase trailed a minute back.

Around 55km to go, the chase was absorbed, and a counterattack formed, but Drake and van der Merwe maintained their momentum. Crossing the line with three laps to go, the duo still led, though the chase loomed and the peloton exploded behind them on the cobbled Kimihurura Climb, leaving 44 riders left in contention.

Drake fought to hold them off, soloing against the peloton until the next ascent of the Kigali Golf Climb, but was consumed. There, Harry Hudson (GBR) launched a decisive attack with 35km to go. At the same time, Barry briefly lost contact with the peloton but managed to rejoin as the pace steadied after Hudson’s surge.

As the riders came through the start/finish, Reitz crashed in the feed zone but fought his way back into the group. From there, the peloton launched sprint after sprint in pursuit of Hudson. With 5km to go, he still held a 15-second gap, chased by Javier Cubillas Salvador (ESP), Benjamin Noval Suarez (ESP), and Johan Blanc (FRA).

At 3km to go, Noval Suarez crashed, ending Spain’s campaign, while Blanc pressed on solo in pursuit of Hudson. In the final kilometer, Jan Jackowiak (POL) attacked from the peloton, chasing Blanc as Hudson remained visible up the road. Hudson held strong to take the solo win, with Blanc sprinting to silver by overtaking Jackowiak in the final meters.

The peloton came in shattered. Barry crossed the line in 26th, followed by Drake and Reitz in 30th and 31st. Hincapiecompleted the race on the lead lap in 52nd.

1. Harry Hudson (GBR)

2. Johan Blanc (FRA)

3. Jan Jackowiak (POL)

26. Ashlin Barry (USA)

30. Beckam Drake (USA)

31. Braden Reitz (USA)

52. Enzo Hincapie (USA)

DNF. Kashus Adamski (USA)

Two Americans represented the U23 Men: Cole Kessler (Newbury Park, Calif.; Lidl-Trek) and Evan Boyle (Niskayuna, N.Y.; Hagens Berman Jayco).

Several riders attempted attacks early on, but none stuck, and the peloton largely stayed together with riders gradually dropping off the back. After 2.5 hours of racing and with four laps to go, the pace began to ramp up. A strong move strung out the peloton and created a front group of 14 riders. At that point, Kessler was still in what remained of the main field, while Boyle had dropped back.

The lead group thinned further on the climbs. With 36 km to go, just five riders remained at the front: Lorenzo Finn (ITA), Héctor Álvarez (ESP), Marco Schrettl (AUT), Jan Huber (SUI), and Mateusz Gajdulewicz (POL).

On the next ascent of the cobbled climb, Finn pushed the pace in an effort to shed the others, with only Huber able to hold his wheel. Behind them, the chase group trailed by about a minute, while the peloton fell further back. By then, the peloton reduced to around 11 riders and Kessler had lost contact.

On the final lap, Finn and Huber struggled to cooperate as a group of three chasers lingered in striking distance, though the peloton was nearly two minutes down. With 7 km remaining, Finn attacked solo, riding clear to claim the World Title. Huber secured silver, and Schrettl completed the podium with bronze. Kessler finished on the lead lap with the next group, placing 22nd.

1. Lorenzo Finn (ITA)

2. Jan Huber (SUI)

3. Marco Schrettl (AUT)

22. Cole Kessler (USA)

DNF. Evan Boyle (USA)

USA Cycling’s participation in the World Championships is made possible through the support of dedicated donors and partners. To support the USA Cycling National Team, members can donate to the USA Cycling Foundation here. USA Cycling's supporting partner for this event includes HOVERAir, who shares our mission to elevate the sport and inspire the next generation of cyclists.