Having recently been cleared in his doping case, Daryl Impey goes into the Worlds road race with limited racing in his legs but the South African showed good form in the recent Canadian races. On a course that suits him well, he fancies his chances if the race is decided in a sprint from a reduced peloton.

Going into the World Championships, Daryl Impey has flown under the radar but it may be a good idea to keep an eye out for the South African jersey in Sunday’s road race. The Orica-GreenEDGE rider has shown great condition in his recent races and is perfectly suited to the course in Ponferrada.

Impey missed most of the season when his team put him on inactive status due to positive test for Probenecid taken at the South African Championships in February. The result was announced in June just weeks before the Tour de France, meaning that he missed one of his biggest objectives.

In late August, Impey was cleared for in the case. He claimed that the Probenicid entered his system through contaminated gelatine capsules that he had bought from a pharmacy, which he later put bicarbonate of soda in. He told the hearing that the pharmacist who had issued him the capsules had the Probenecid on his hands from dealing with a prior customer. The receipts proving that this was the case were apparently the defining factor in Impey being cleared.

Impey got a storming comeback in the Tour of Alberta where he used a stage win on the final day to take the overall victory. One week later he led Simon Gerrans out to the win in both the GP de Quebec and GP de Montreal, even finishing fourth in the former race himself.

The results prove that Impey is in great condition. Having done a recon of the Worlds circuit, he now knows what to expect from the race that has been goal since he returned to competition.

“I think it’s going to be a select group at the end,” he told CycligQuotes at the end of his recon. “I think it’s hard enough to make a select group but it is also not hard enough for someone just to ride away, especially with such a quick downhill to the finish. That last climb is quite short. If it had been a bit longer, it might have been a springboard for the pure climbers but the distance is short enough for a couple of guys just to hang on.

“I see a select group of 30-40 guys coming to the finish. But that being said, it also depends on how the race is being ridden. Obviously when you come with national teams and not the trade teams, it makes it different because the communication is not as good. We will see. There is a big difference with not having radios and things like that. It will make for a quite interesting race.”

Impey climbs well on shorter, not too steep climbs and he is very fast in a sprint. On paper, this makes him an obvious candidate for the win in this kind of race.

“I think so,” he said when asked if this was a race for him. “If I am there with the right guys, I do fancy my chances in a 40-rider group. Obviously if it’s a big bunch sprint, I don’t fancy my chances. Leading up to this race, I have had some really nice results. I think it’s just about having the legs on Sunday. It’ll just be about giving everything to the line and see where we end up. It would be nice to finish the season on a good note.”

The results in Canada have boosted Impey’s confidence and he feels ready for the challenge.

“I think [I am in good form],” he said. “I have been working pretty hard. To come back and win straightaway in Alberta was really encouraging and then to go to Quebec and lift the level a notch, I was really happy to end up fourth and be the final lead-out man for Gerro.

“I think my condition is there. It might not have been as good as I thought it would be. I would have liked to have done the Vuelta or something before. But we don’t live in the ideal world. At the end of the day, if you have the legs on Sunday you win, if you don’t have, you don’t win. There is only winner on Sunday.”

Impey is part of a small South African team with Jacques and Reinardt Janse van Rensburg. The latter shares many of Impey’s characteristics, being a solid climber with a fast sprint.

If it comes down to a sprint, Impey hopes that they will both be there.

“We don’t really have a big tactic,” he said. “We are realistic about our chances. We know we only have got three guys. We are not expected to control. It would be great if Reinardt and I are there in the finale because we have similar characteristics. It’s basically about speaking to each other and seeing who feels better on the day.”

Manye have tipped Simon Gerrans to win the race. Impey has led out the Australian to many of his victories and he knows his trade teammate better than most.

“I think Gerro has shown that he is probably the man to beat at this point,” he said. “In Quebec and Montreal, he was really a step above everybody else. Bur je is not impossible to beat. The good thing is that I know him quite well. We’ll have to see on Sunday but he is definitely going to be hard to beat.

“If he wins the rainbow jersey, I would be really happy for him as well. Anything is possible. Sunday is going to be a different race, especially if the weather is going to be the way it is. That’s going to change the race quite a bit.”