world road race

Oh, and my fantasy outsider, betting with the heart rather than the head: Hushovd

If he's anywhere near contention at the end of the race, then I'll be happy - it'll be great to see him in the big races next season!

Right, made my picks, bets have placed. Riders I expect to contend for the medals are:

Sagan
Cancellara
Gilbert
Nibali
Moreno

My long-shots are:

Stybar
Van Avermaet
Roche
Barguil
Degenkolb
Pazzato (not if the heavy rain arrives!)

Bring it on, no race radios, divided loyalties, bad weather forecast - anything can happen!

There's so much climbing because of the sheer number of km's to be raced, but the hills taken in isolation are fine for powerful riders such a Sagan, Cancellara, and certainly Gilbert. Cancellara's point that the best build-up to the worlds is the Vuelta (because a rider needs lots of hard miles in the legs to cope with the length of the race) ia backed up by the stats. So don't be surprised if the winner rode the Vuelta this year. For that reason, Gilbert will be one of my picks, but I need to have think about a few others, plus some outside bets. One outside bet I'm tempted by is Hushovd who has quietly racked up wins in the late season, but not a Vuelta rider, so strictly each-way bet. Valverde, Rodriguez, and Nibs are obvious candidates, but I got a feeling for a surprise from a youngster. I need to have a think before I place my bets. Whatever the outcome, hopefully it'll be a great race.

When Cancellara was interviewed about being a favourite he mentioned that Gilbert was also one of his tips to win. Either he was just playing along to the journalists or he's pretty certain that all the puncheur guys will survive the climbing just as well as the pure climbers.

I read the same article listing Sagan and Gilbert as the favourites. Lazy journalism I suspect. As always it depends on the race but there is a good chance that a climber may be sporting the bands next season

I thought the climbers were all favorites, the likes of contador and quintana seem to be targeting it as a year they can win.