Michael Kwiatkowski (Etixx-QuickStep).(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Peter Sagan grabbed stage 3 victory(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
That's ten stage wins for John Degenkolb at the Vuelta(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Alexander Kristoff (Katusha) celebrates his win(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Philippe Gilbert (BMC).(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) looking content with his stage 4 spoils(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Every rider dreams of wearing the rainbow jersey for a season and many of the sport's biggest names will be fighting for that right at the men’s World Championship road race in Virginia on Sunday. 2014 world champion Michal Kwiatkowski leads the Poland team and heads to Richmond as the defending champion and he stands a chance of becoming the first rider since Paolo Bettini to win consecutive titles.
The lumpy course and uphill finish suits Classic-style sprinters and Kwiatkowski will face some tough competition from the likes of Peter Sagan (Slovakia), John Degenkolb (Germany) and Alexander Kristoff (Norway).
There will be many teams, however, working to prevent a sprint to the line with Spain, Belgium and the home nation USA potentially riding a much more aggressive race. The former have several strong options and a late breakaway would suit the likes of Philippe Gilbert (Belgium) and Alejandro Valverde (Spain).
These are just a few names that feature in our list of favourites, watch the video to find out who else is among our top 10 riders to watch for in the men’s road race.
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