Despite star man Vincenzo Nibali suffering from a fall at Tre Valli Varesine, Davde Cassani has vowed to unleash “organised chaos” on the men’s road race at the Worlds this Sunday.

Nibali suffered pain while training with the team earlier this week and explained why he is in pain.

"That crash at the Tre Valli opened an old wound, and quite deeply too, but once I’m riding for an hour or so, it stops causing me problems because I’m warmed up and I can move freely," Nibali explained. "It’s annoying, but I’m OK."

Even with Nibali’s difficulties, Cassani still believes that Italy can be aggressive and do their jerseys proud.

"There are a few teams out there with stronger sprinters than we have, so we’re going to go out and create chaos," said Cassani, who added that his team’s tactics had taken shape organically over dinner at their ritiro in the Langhe. "If the riders don’t share in the decision-making process, then the tactics are bound to fail."

But Plan A may no longer be Nibali, who has raced little since winning the Tour de France and admits he is not at the level he displayed at the Tour.

"It’s clear that I don’t have the same condition as the Tour, and that’s normal because for the Tour I gave 100 percent of myself and more. There were no distractions allowed," Nibali said. "Since the Tour, I’ve had a few parties, I’ve travelled a lot, and I’ve had a lot of appointments. That’s normal for a guy who wins the Tour de France but after 20 days or so, I shut down all the requests and I started training again, and my form has picked up as I got closer to the Worlds."

Nibali also said that the course is similar in profile to stage 2 of the Tour that finished in Sheffield, but as the Worlds is a circuit race, no real comparisons can be made. Nibali also admits that if it rains, it will be a tough course.

"That descent between the two climbs is ugly," Nibali warned. "You’ll need to pay a lot of attention if it rains, because the road surface isn’t the best either."

One man who will be pleased if it rains is Sonny Colbrelli, who won two races last weekend and was sixth in rain-soaked Milan-Sanremo this year, showing he can go the distance.

"The fewer people in the finale the better it is, and I’d like it to be selective – not too much, obviously, but enough to make the other sprinters feel it in their legs," Colbrelli told Cyclingnews. "It’s my first Worlds and I don’t want to put too much pressure on myself, but I’ll give my all."

While they may not have a favourite, Nibali and his teammates are baying for blood on Sunday: “We’ll have to look to shake up the race. We can’t wait for the finale."