Latest Worlds TTT line-ups: AG2R, Astana, Katusha, Movistar

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While the likes of BMC Racing, Quick-Step Floors and defending champions Team Sunweb have to be considered the most likely candidates for the top placings at the team time trial event at the UCI World Championships in Innsbruck, Austria, this Sunday, a number of teams start the race with the hope of nabbing a podium spot.

Katusha-Alpecin have unveiled an extremely strong six-man line-up for this weekend's TTT, led by four-time individual world champion Tony Martin and five-time British TT champion Alex Dowsett.

They'll be well supported by Nathan Haas, Reto Hollenstein, Nils Politt and Mads Würtz Schmidt, and surely have to be considered a medal prospect.

Movistar will field Andrey Amador, Winner Anacona, Imanol Erviti, Nelson Oliveira, Marc Soler and Jasha Sütterlin, and will be hoping to repeat – or better – their performance at the 2015 Worlds, held in Richmond, USA, where they took the bronze medal.

AG2R La Mondiale will be represented in the TTT by Silvan Dillier, François Bidard, Alexis Gougeard, Nico Denz, Gediminas Bagdonas and Alexandre Geniez.

Geniez was recently announced as the final member of the French national team for the Worlds road race, which takes place on the following Sunday – September 30 – so will be happy to use the team time trial event as somewhat of a warm-up.

"The World Championship course in Innsbruck is a difficult one, but there's no pressure, and we're ready to work hard," said Geniez on his team's website.

"Gediminas Bagdonas, Silvan Dillier and Alexis Gougeard are all good against the clock, so we won't have any problem, and this team time trial is going to be a great occasion to kick off the week in Austria."

Astana, meanwhile, will be powered by two Danes in the shape of this year's Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Amstel Gold winner Michael Valgren and Tour de France stage winner Magnus Cort, with Estonia's Tanel Kangert, Canada's Hugo Houle, Ukraine's Andriy Grivko and Kazakhstan road race champion Alexey Lutsenko making up the rest of the cosmopolitan roster.

AG2R La Mondiale for the UCI Road World Championships team time trial: Gediminas Bagdonas, François Bidard, Nico Denz, Silvan Dillier, Alexandre Geniez, Alexis Gougeard

Astana Worlds TTT team: Magnus Cort, Andriy Grivko, Hugo Houle, Tanel Kangert, Alexey Lutsenko, Michael Valgren

Katusha-Alpecin Worlds TTT team: Alex Dowsett, Nathan Haas, Reto Hollenstein, Tony Martin, Nils Politt, Mads Würtz Schmidt

Movistar Worlds TTT team: Andrey Amador, Winner Anacona, Imanol Erviti, Nelson Oliveira, Marc Soler, Jasha Sütterlin