Alessandro Ballan is the last Italian winner of the UCI Road World Championships road race. He won in 2008. But the Squadra would like to add  another rider in the winners list. Diego Ulissi is in a great shape after his strong victory at the Memorial Marco Pantani. Daniele Bennati is also  confident after his strong performance at the GP Industria & Commercio di Prato.

"I’d rather wait a few days until I’ve seen the route before predicting how the road race will shake out. However I know that the Italian team is strong, united and ready,” Bennati told Gazzetta dello Sport. "We’ve got some important riders in the squad: Elia Viviani, Diego Ulissi, Matteo Trentin plus Vincenzo Nibali, who could been enjoying his end of season holidays but instead joined our plans for the worlds with real enthusiasm. Our rivals should fear him and fear us. I’ll be at the team’s service for the whole race."

Bennati will be a key domestique and road captain in the Squadra in Richmond, Virginia. "The Vuelta was tough this year and recovering has not been easy. That’s why Prato was an important test for me. I think it went pretty well…" Bennati added. "I was very fortunate to have a rider like Nibali working for me. I feel honoured. He worked a lot for me and then even lead out the sprint for me."