Célia Gery has become the first ever U23 women’s road race world champion after a perfectly executed display of teamwork from France on the hilly circuit in Kigali. The 19-year-old finished off the work of teammate Marion Bunel by outsprinting Viktória Chladoňová of Slovakia on the final uphill drag. Spain’s Paula Blasi Cairol completed the podium, while Italy’s Eleonora Ciabocco took fourth.
The U23 women raced 119.3 km over eight laps of the Kigali circuit, facing 2,770 metres of climbing. Each lap featured the Côte de Kigali Golf (800m at 8.1%) and the cobbled Côte de Kimihurura (1.3 km at 6.3%), before a punishing uphill run-in to the finish. Attritional from the outset, the race gradually whittled down the peloton to a core of favourites.
Canada set a hard tempo early for Isabella Holmgren, thinning the bunch and forcing several contenders to chase. Holmgren herself attacked multiple times, but could not escape. Britain’s Cat Ferguson struggled on the climbs and briefly dropped, though she was able to rejoin thanks to her teammates. France marked moves carefully, with Julie Bego animating the race with repeated accelerations before Bunel and Gery came to the fore in the closing kilometres.
Photo Credit: Cor VosThe race came alive with attacks on the penultimate lap. Justyna Czapla, Anina Hutter, Paula Blasi and Bego forced a gap, only for Holmgren to drag them back. Malwina Mul of Poland then countered, building a lead of nearly a minute before Gery and Chladoňová bridged across. Mul was dropped on the cobbled climb, leaving a trio in front.
The final lap saw regrouping, with Stina Kagevi briefly going solo before being caught. On the last ascent of the Kimihurura, Bunel attacked, drawing out Gery and Chladoňová. The three went clear, setting up a tactical finale. Bunel drove hard to keep the chasers at bay, before peeling off to let Gery sprint. Chladoňová launched early, but Gery had the stronger finish, powering past to take gold in 3:24:26.
It was a landmark win for Gery, already a world champion in cyclo-cross as a junior and part of France’s victorious Team Relay squad in 2024. “It is unbelievable to become world champion for the first time,” she said afterwards. “We were all three really strong, Julie Bego, Marion Bunel and myself. Marion helped me perfectly in the finale.”
Blasi crossed the line 12 seconds back to secure bronze, ahead of Ciabocco. Holmgren, the pre-race favourite, had to settle for sixth at 17 seconds after her earlier efforts took their toll. Belgium’s Lore De Schepper made the top ten in eighth, while Australia’s Talia Appleton finished ninth. No Dutch riders contested the race, with the Netherlands choosing not to send a team.
2025 U23 Women World Championship Road Race result
Results powered by FirstCycling.com
Main photo credit: Cor Vos
