Henry Hudson, a British rider, has won the heat-stricken Elite Men Junior Road Race at the ongoing 2025 UCI World Championships, becoming the first British man to claim the race.
With lots of cobblestone road to climb, 267.5km to cover, 72 riders to race against, and 8 laps to complete, Hudson made history for the British flag to rise high once again in the world race happening in Kigali.
Another British rider, Zoe Bäckstedt, also won a gold medal earlier in the championships in the Women’s Under-23 Individual Time Trial.
Polish rider Jan Jackowiak, who had been sick until the lead into this race, managed to secure a bronze, while Johan Blanc of France came in 2nd place after putting on a show in the last 1000 meters, hitting the cobblestone road to chase off Great Britain’s Hudson in vain.
With 27 seconds ahead and shoulders moving left to right, Hudson rode the stone road while looking behind to see if any of the title contenders were closing in, and it was only the Polish rider Yakovic in the distance.
Jackowiak and Blanc remained shoulder-to-shoulder as they hit the last 800 meters, giving spectators an exceptional bike race.
On the painful cobblestone road, both Jackowiak and Blanc remained in the view of the British rider, but shuffling his pedals under the heated day, Hudson looked behind once and dashed in the final rise to solely claim the title with celebrations from the crowds.
Young riders Jackowiak and Blanc remained neck-to-neck in 150 meters to the final line but couldn’t beat Hudson, who clocked 2:55.19.
“The roads were not easy, but I had teammates to support me,” Hudson said, noting that support from the team was great for him to focus on the race win.
“I was suffering on the last climb; I think it was the French rider behind, but I just managed to stay away,” he said.
Race Overview:
The Polish team pushed hard to lead the peloton, and 100.7 kilometers into the race, the Australian rider Heimo Fugger and Swiss rider Loïc Schertenleib were tight on tight, leaving the 2nd peloton breakaway teams by less than a minute away.
The Italian team had a very good race tracking behind the 1st peloton, but the Belgians brought in a power ride after the cobblestone road for the 2nd time.
The American team was on the safe side of the race when Beckham Drake came through after the racers covered and completed two laps and retained the pace making with good pedaling but also affording a chat moment with the Swiss rider Schertenleib.
Ethiopian and Libyan riders had a crash in which the latter’s rear wheel was damaged, and both were forced to drop out.
At least over 20 riders were lost in the package for various reasons, including technical hitches, and some like Jordan, Comoros, Niger, Burkina Faso, Namibia, and one American rider (Kashus Adamski) abandoned the race.
Rwanda fielded six riders: MANIZABAYO Eric, MASENGESHO Vainqueur, Mugisha Moise, MUHOZA Eric, NKUNDABERA Eric, NSENGIYUMVA Shemu, but Mugisha dropped out and was replaced by Byukusenge Patrick, who never came close to the winning pelotons.
At 69.4km left, American rider B. Drake and Bulgaria’s Nicholas Van der Merwe made their way through the cobblestone road to pass the lead peloton, leaving a pressure gap for the original lead group (including Schertenleib and Fugger) to catch up with.
It was a battlefield between French riders and the Dutch who had a claim in the first one hour of the race.
All Photos: Moses Niyonzima
