Chris Froome has made the world championships the centrepiece of the second part of his season and is confident that the course is hard enough for a grand tour rider like him to make a difference. He will have support from his teammate Bradley Wiggins who is 100% committed to supporting his captain.

Chris Froome may have mostly shone in stage races but the Brit has made the unusual choice to focus on the world championships road race in the final part of the season. The very hard course in Florence has convinced the Tour de France winner that the rainbow jersey is an achievable goal for a grand tour rider like him.

Following his post-Tour break, Froome has meticulously prepared his Worlds campaign by racing the USA Pro Challenge at altitude in Colorado before undertaking a training camp in the American state. He returned to competition in the Canadian WorldTour races where he delivered an aggressive showing but was unable to make a difference on courses that were too punchy to suit him well.

However, Froome and his Sky team feel that the condition is sufficient to take the rainbow jersey and they believe that the course will be hard enough to offer him the chance to shine.

"Froome's condition is improving," Sky technical director Carsten Jeppesen told CyclingQuotes.com yesterday. "He has been on a training camp in Colorado in between the USA Pro Challange and Canada. He has trained really hard and we hope that he is ready for Sunday."

"The Worlds is a different race than the Tour de France. He says that the course is sufficiently hard but it really depends on how the race will unfold. If it is made really tough, we believe he has a chance but if it turns into a waiting game, he lacks the punch to make the difference."

Froome himself was on a similar note when he was interviewed following his bronze medal winning ride in yesterday's team time trial.

"I feel quite good at the moment," he said. "I definitely feel that my form is coming up. It feels good to be heading towards the end of the season in good condition. I think everybody is getting tired now at the end of the season but I am in good morale and am looking forward to finishing the season."

During the last couple of seasons, there has been much debate about the internal rivalry between Froome and Bradley Wiggins. They've only raced together once since the Tour de France but on Sunday, they will once again be back in the same team when they line up for Great Britain.

However, there will be no big drama this time. Wiggins has committed himself fully to Wednesday's time trial and has put on weight to perform well in the discipline. He has no personal ambitions in Sunday's road race.

"Wiggins is 100% ready to support Froome," Jeppesen said. "Wiggins isn't ready to win on Sunday - not on this course and with his current condition. He has only trained to perform well in the time trial. He is riding well and hopes to take a medal."

You can follow both the time trial and the road race on CyclingQuotes.com/live.