Italian coach Davide Cassani has told VeloNews that his team are hoping for windy conditions as they don’t believe they have the power to beat the likes of Cavendish, Kittel and Greipel in an “easy’ bunch sprint.

“In the case of strong winds, it’ll be difficult,” head director Davide Cassani told VeloNews. “Otherwise, it risks being an annoying race. We aren’t the favorites, those are Sagan, Greipel, and Boonen. Tom is devastating when there’s wind, he already won 22 stages in the Tour of Qatar.”

Giacomo Nizzolo and Elia Viviani will be italy’s bunch sprint options, although if things get selective, the likes of Daniele Bennati, Pippo Pozzato, Matteo Trentin and Sonny Colbrelli can all be relied on.

“We have a solid team, with two top sprinters,” Cassani added. “We have clear ideas on what we want to do and our sprint train is strong. Keep in mind that the first leg could see the race explode before the circuits and the great rivalry between the nations like France, Australia, Germany, and Belgium could work against them.”

“I have the fitness and experience,” Pozzato told La Gazzetta dello Sport newspaper this week. “I am motivated for the worlds like few others. I know how to race with the wind in my face and I can also help in a sprint. If a small group forms, I’m also dangerous.”

“I welcome the wind,” said Trentin, who won Paris-Tours 2015 and two Tour de France stages in 2013 and 2014. “We know very well how to handle ourselves. If there are echelons, we need to take control of the situation.”