As expected, arch-rivals Arnaud Demare and Nacer Bouhanni will lead France at the World Championships. There was no room for the third big sprinter, Bryan Coquard.

Coach Bernard Bourreay has selected a team that is largely an amalgamation between the two lead-out trains of their captains. The final three riedrs in Bouhanni's train, Christophe Laporte, Geoffrey Soupe and Cyril Lemoine have all been selected, as have Yoann Offredo, William Bonnet and Marc Sarreau who are both key riders for Demare. His final lead-out man Mickael Delage will be absent. The final spot has been taken by Coquard's lead-out man, Adrien Petit.

Bryan Coquard (Direct Energie), Alexis Gougeard (AG2R la Mondiale), Angelo Tulik (Direct Energie), Florian Senechal (Cofidis) and Jeremy Roy (FDJ) are the reserves.

"I made the selection based on experience, results and performance on the WorldTour and the highest level, both in classis with potential for echelons and the sprints. But the team is also based on riders who are still ring well in the big WorldTour races like the Eneco Tour, which just ended this weekend. We will determine the tactics when we get there and especially we will determine the roles according to the conditions in France," Borreau said.