Fabian Cancellara is one of the big favourites for the world championships road race and the Swiss is beaming of confidence. Marking Philippe Gilbert out as his main rival, he doesn't expect Peter Sagan or Filippo Pozzato to play major roles in the 270km race.

Fabian Cancellara wants to win one race more than anyone else: while the Swiss has several monuments and four world time trial championships on his palmares, he still hasn't had the chance to wear the rainbow jersey as world road race champion. This year he has put everything into one big attempt to finally get the chance to wear the coveted tunic and has skipped the Tour de France to specifically prepare for the event.

A very lean Cancellara impressed the entire cycling world with his splendid climbing in the Vuelta a Espana and while many thought that the course in Florence would be too hard for him, his performances in Spain have silenced his critics. Having already made it onto the podium in the 2008 Olympics which was held on a similarly tough route in Beijing, he is confident that he will be able to survive the climbing in Florence.

"The Beijing course was hard but I was up there (finishing second behind Samuel Sanchez)," he said in an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport.

The circuit which will be tackled 10 times, contains two major climbs: the 4km Fiesole ascent and the short, steep Via Salvati ramp. The latter has been deemed too steep for Cancellara but the Swiss who thrives on the steep Belgian hellingen remains confident.

"Everyone is talking about Via Salviati: it's hard but it's only a 90-second all-out effort," he said. Let's see what happens in the race..."

Having had the chance to gauge his rivals in the Vuelta and the Canadian WorldTour races, Cancellara has a clear assessment for his major threats. He points to the reigning world champion Philippe Gilbert who showed growing form by winning a Vuelta stage, as the man to beat.

"I think I'll be up against Gilbert," he said. He's only got one card to play and he's got to play it well."

On the other hand, he doesn't fear Peter Sagan and Filippo Pozzato who have recently won big WorldTour races in Montreal and Plouay respectively.

"Peter's raced in America and so I don’t think he'll have the distance in his legs," he said. "I'm convinced the Vuelta is the best preparation for the worlds. I did 16 stages full gas, full on. The Spanish riders could be good, if they ride together… I'm sure Nibali will have a great Worlds because he showed he's in super shape at the Vuelta. But it'll be very difficult for him to win. Pozzato? I don’t know what he can do. If I was him, I wouldn't even turn up."

Cancellara will kick off his worlds campaign on Sunday when he lines up for Radioshack in the team time trial. It will be no warm-up event for the road race as the Luxembourgish team showed good form when they finished 2nd on stage 1 of the Vuelta.

"It's a big goal and it's important to me," he said. "It's important for the team too and so I'll be giving it 100%. We use one of the things I learnt while at Mapei: 'Vivere Insieme' - Live together. It could be a special day for some of my teammates who doesn't get much space because they work for the team. Omega Pharma and BMC are the favourites but Sky could be a surprise too. We showed at the Vuelta that we're strong too." 

Having long doubted his participation, Cancellara will go for a fifth time trial crown on Wednesday. He beat reigning world time trial champion Tony Martin in the Vuelta but he doubts his own chances on the flat course that will be the scene of one of the most hotly contested races for years.

"I'm going to ride and we'll see how hard I go," he said. My favourites are Wiggins, Martin and Phinney. I don’t know in what order even if I think the Englishman can win it."