Chris Froome, Sir Bradley Wiggins and Lizzie Armitstead lead the Great British challenge at the 2013 UCI Road World Championships in Tuscany from September 22-29.
BBC Sport will broadcast exclusive coverage of all the key races from the event, culminating with live action from both the men’s and women’s road races at the weekend.
Froome and Armitstead are set to challenge for victory in the men’s and women’s road races, while Wiggins is among the favourites in the men’s elite time trial.
The trio will face stiff competition, though, as the championships annually attract the leading riders in the sport for seven days of action to be held this year in and around Florence.
Peter Sagan and Joaquim Rodriguez will be among the myriad opponents Froome must overcome, while Armitstead’s must fend off the likes of the all-conquering Marianne Vos.
Wiggins, meanwhile, is set to play out a thrilling battle with reigning champion Tony Martin and four-time winner Fabian Cancellara in one of the most hotly anticipated time trials in years.
All eyes will be on Britain’s Wiggins, who is looking to upgrade the silver he won in 2011 to gold.
After an amazing 2012, when he won the Tour de France and Olympic gold, injury and illness have meant this year has been a disappointing one for Wiggins.
But the 33-year-old has targeted this event and has been building up his weight to give him extra power on the flat and fast course that stretches for more than 35 miles of scenic Tuscan countryside, before ending in the historic city of Florence.
The blue-riband road races take centre stage at the weekend with the women’s event taking place on Saturday, with London Olympic silver medallist Armitstead leading the British challenge.
She missed last year’s race because of illness but proved her form by becoming the British champion earlier this summer.
Dutchwoman Marianne Vos is the cyclist to beat over the punishing 130km course, having beaten Armitstead to Olympic gold last summer and then won her second world title just eight weeks later.
The undulating 130km course finishes in Florence and promises to be a tough examination of the elite field, which includes defending champion and London 2012 gold medallist Marianne Vos of the Netherlands.
On Sunday, Britain’s Chris Froome will be vying to add the world champion’s rainbow jersey to his yellow jersey as Tour de France winner.
No-one has achieved that feat in the same year since 1989, while Tommy Simpson and Mark Cavendish are the only British World Road Race champions.
To succeed over the hilly 272km course, Froome must beat Vincenzo Nibali, the Giro d’Italia winner who bypassed the Tour de France to concentrate on winning a world title in his homeland.
Nibali is the only man to have beaten Froome in any stage race in 2013, the Tirreno-Adriatico.
The championships also include junior and under-23 races, where Britain also has strong representation, not least in the form of Simon Yates, who is already a track world champion and has also enjoyed an outstanding season on the road.
BBC Sport will be the only place to see all the main action unfold this year as its screens exclusive coverage of the elite races from Tuscany.
Starting with the men’s team time-trial on Sunday, September 22, live on BBC Red Button from 1.30pm, the BBC will also screen the men’s and women’s elite individual time trials and road races live.
There is increased network coverage of the event this year compared to 2012, with the men’s time trial and both men’s and women’s road races being shown live on BBC One and BBC Two for the first time.
Jonathan Edwards presents BBC TV’s extensive coverage. Commentary comes from Simon Brotherton and Chris Boardman, while trackside reports and interviews will be conducted by Jill Douglas.
All of BBC TV’s coverage – as well as additional live action – will be streamed on the BBC Sport website and selected connected TVs, mobiles and tablet devices, plus there will be live radio commentary of the time trials and road races on BBC Radio 5 live and 5 live Sports Extra.
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Sunday 22nd September
Men’s Team Time Trial – 57.2km
LIVE: 1.30pm-4.40pm BBC Red Button
Tuesday 24th September
Women’s Individual Time Trial – 22.1km
LIVE: 1.30pm-3.50pm BBC Red Button
Wednesday 25th September
Men’s Individual Time Trial – 57.9km
LIVE: 12.15pm-2.10pm BBC Red Button
LIVE: 1.40pm-4.10pm BBC Two (incl. Women’s ITT highlights)
Saturday 28th September
Women’s Road Race – 140km
LIVE: 3.00pm-4.00pm BBC One
LIVE: 4.00pm-5.15pm BBC Two
Coverage online via BBC Sport website from 1.00pm
Sunday 29th September
Men’s Road Race – 272km
LIVE: 12.30pm-2.45pm BBC Red Button
LIVE: 2.15pm-4.15pm BBC Two
Coverage online via BBC Sport website from 9.00am
