Froome is joined in Great Britain's eight-man squad by Team Sky quintet Geraint Thomas, Ian Stannard, Josh Edmondson, Luke Rowe and Sir Bradley Wiggins, plus former Team Sky pair Mark Cavendish and Steve Cummings.

An undulating and demanding 272.2km course from Lucca to Florence has thrown up one of the most unpredictable races in years, with climbers, breakaway specialists, one-day experts and sprinters all in with a chance of claiming the rainbow jersey.

The race ends with ten laps of a 16.6km finishing circuit in Florence that contains two crucial climbs, and it is on these ascents that Froome hopes to drop sprinters such as Peter Sagan.

Froome said that eliminating the sprinters would be a major concern for the British squad.

"For us, the biggest thing is to try to eliminate the sprinters from the race," Froome, who is one of the best climbers in the world, said according to the Sky website.

"I'm not going to try and hide it, I can't sprint, so for me to get a result it would have to be a really hard race, so much so that the sprinters start falling away and it is left to the less punchy kind of guys, the climbers who can ride away and try and go for a solo victory. For me, that would be the ideal scenario.

"It is a cleverly designed course. It does offer a platform for a sprinter to win it, for a climber to win it, for a breakaway specialist to win it. It should be a very aggressive race because of that."

Froome has prepared for the world championships by training at altitude in the Rocky Mountains and is happy with his form and condition ahead of the road race.”

Froome said he was content with his form and that he feels highly motivated for tomorrow’s race.

"My form is good. I have done a good block of training up at altitude before coming down here. The world championships has been the surprising driving force for me. It hasn't been as big a goal as the Tour and, given that it is a one-day race, it is quite a gamble - it is a bit of a long shot to go for the win. I'm up for it."

Froome and Wiggins will re-unite for the first time since the Tour of Oman in February, which Froome won. Their relationship appeared strained as they were both quoted as giving seemingly contradictory statements prior to this year’s Tour de France, which Froome won convincingly and which Wiggins was compelled to forego.

Since then their relationship seems to have improved somewhat, at least outwardly. Froome acknowledged that Wiggins could prove vital to Froome’s rainbow jersey ambitions and is delighted to have him in the squad.

"He [Wiggins] is coming here after winning the Tour of Britain and a silver medal on Wednesday at the individual time trial, so he is no doubt going really well at the moment and I definitely expect him to be there towards the closing stages of the race. If we need to try to make the race harder, Brad will be one of the key guys in that respect."

No rider has managed to win the Tour – Worlds double in the same year since Greg LeMond in 1989.