We may never get used to seeing Tadej Pogačar launch an attack with more than 100 km still to race, ride solo from 66 km out, and then cruise to a World Championship victory. In Kigali, Rwanda, the Slovenian superstar claimed his second consecutive rainbow jersey, proving once again that, as things stand, to beat him, you’d probably need to be an alien.

After the surprising “defeat” in the time trial, some thought he might not be at his best, that he could be vulnerable. But Pogačar was just being Pogačar: going even earlier than expected, making his move on Mont Kigali. Two young talents we’ve come to know from the Giro d’Italia, Juan Ayuso (Spain) and Isaac Del Toro (Mexico), tried to respond, but one by one they cracked.

Remco Evenepoel (Belgium) was forced onto the back foot after a couple of mechanical issues and had to settle for second, while Ben Healy (Ireland) showed all his strength once again by grabbing third, just behind the two giants.

“When I attacked, my idea was to form a small group, just like we did with Ayuso and Del Toro,” said the 2024 Giro winner. “Then Juan had a problem on the cobbles and Del Toro had stomach issues, so I ended up alone pretty early and had to challenge myself like last year. I’m happy with how I managed it. I had some doubts, because the climbs got tougher lap after lap, but I pushed all the way to the finish. This experience in Rwanda has been simply incredible”.

For the next 12 months, the iconic rainbow jersey will stay on his shoulders. Maybe his 2025 season wasn’t quite as magical or unrepeatable as 2024, when he pulled off the Giro–Tour–Worlds triple, but Tadej still wraps up the year with wins at Strade Bianche, the Tour of Flanders, Flèche Wallonne, Liège–Bastogne–Liège, and the Tour de France. And we’ll be seeing him again at Il Lombardia on Saturday, 11 October. Let’s get ready for more…