Toms Skujins proved his worth once again in the road race at the UCI World Championships in Kigali, taking a prestigious fifth place, adding to his fourth-place finish in Zurich last year and eighth in Glasgow 2023.

In a brutal race, which saw only 30 runners out of 165 starters finish, the Latvian runner was able to manage his strength well, confirming himself as one of the best performers of the toughest races.

"World Championships are always special, but this year was extra special. Extra tough and extra brutal, but fortunately I had the best team by my side," Skujins commented on social media.

As expected, defending champion Tadej Pogačar launched his decisive attack on Mount Kigali, taking a solo victory. Skujins found himself in the chasing groups that formed and fragmented throughout the race, crossing the finish line 6:41 behind the winner, six seconds ahead of a small group including Ciccone, Del Toro, and Ayuso.

With his usual irony, when it was pointed out that the top 10 was mostly made up of climbers, Skujins joked: "I think I'm the world champion in the over-70 kg category, so I'll take this title." A humorous reference to the fact that the top-place finishers are all very light riders: Pogačar weighs 66 kg, Evenepoel 63 kg, Del Toro and Ayuso 64 and 65 kg, respectively.

For the 34-year-old Latvian, this is yet another high-level confirmation in a major classic, demonstrating his ability to be competitive in the most demanding races on the international calendar.

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