*Will Kigali 2025 become the World Championships with an asterisk?*

Dutch, Danish and Belgians to send reduced rosters, with more rumoured

The asterisk is a familiar punctuation mark to most cycling fans.

It’s most often used to denote a rider whose results were removed for a doping suspension. Take Lance Armstrong’s final professional race below, the results with an asterisk because…well you know why.

Screenshot from Lance Armstrong’s ProCyclingStats page

This year, the asterisk could take on a different usage within pro cycling. Perhaps it will be used for the winner of the rainbow jersey at the Kigali World Championships.

As above, an asterisk is used to add an annotation or a footnote, adding a crucial bit of information which gives context.

The Kigali 2025 footnote

This week, the Dutch cycling federation (KNWU) announced that, as things stand, they will only send elite men and women to this year’s World Championships. In a press release, KNWU cited major funding cuts and prohibitively high travel and accommodation costs in Kigali as major factors in the decision made. The cuts to the Dutch budget have been so severe that they have closed down the national under-23 programme altogether and are seeking sponsorship income.

The Dutch have followed the decision made in November by the Danish Cycling Federation, who will also leave their juniors and under-23 riders at home.

Martin Truijens, KNWU programme manager of talent development said: "Following nations that have already made the decision or have expressed their doubts, the Netherlands will not travel to Rwanda with the juniors for the time being. We simply do not have the resources at the moment to fill in the preparation phase with the quality we stand for."

The decision comes after reports of hotels in Kigali hiking up prices, something which is common during major events. The additional costs for travel and other expenses have forced KNWU’s hand to withdraw from the younger categories.

Read more: 'It's above my limit' - Biniam Girmay unlikely to race Kigali World Championships

The Dutch press release suggested that the Belgian federation had made a similar decision, although no official confirmation had yet been released. Belgian Cycling CEO Nathalie Clauwaert responded to the claim to Het Laatse Nieuws, saying that no final decision had been made but some kind of reduced delegation to the Worlds was certain. Clauwaert did however confirm that the Belgian would compete in all categories at Kigali 2025 as things stand.

“We assume that we will participate in all categories at the World Championships in Rwanda,” Clauwaert said.

Instead of citing purely financial constraints, as she had done in the past, Clauwaert suggested that a reduced squad would be selected due to the difficulty of the parcours in Kigali. The road races at the 2025 World Championships are set to be among the hardest ever seen at the event.

“It is a very tough course, there is a lot of climbing to be done, and the intention is to only send boys and girls who can be competitive. We are talking about specific climbing profiles. If they are not there, we will not fill all the places."

Clauwaert did confirm to HLN that the elite men are the only category that will for certain go to the Championships with a full squad.

Clauwaert again raised the issue of hotels in Kigali.

“The hotel accommodations are a problem…We have a list of preferred hotels that meet our standards in terms of logistics and kitchen facilities, but they are simply unaffordable.”

"Normally we arrange our stay two years in advance. Now there is nothing. That is starting to become a serious stress factor."

A final decision for the Belgian team will be made after the federation visits Rwanda next month.