Vincenzo Nibali will carry the expectations of the home crowd on his shoulders in Sunday’s World road race Championship on an undulating parcours which seems to be made more demanding by rain showers. Weather forecasts predict rainy conditions, something that Nibali normally relishes.

Nibali will be the leader of the Italian squad on Sunday and can count on experienced riders to reel in breakaway attempts or dictate a furious pace on the slopes depending on how the race evolves on Sunday.

“I’m feeling good and I have been able to recuperate during the week,” Nibali told Gazzetta dello Sport. “The parcours? It’s fast but tough. Besides great physical condition, it will take tactical cunning on our part to fully take advantage of our strengths to succeed. The gradients and the weather conditions will be decisive factors. I realize that I will probably have to arrive at the finish line alone if I am to win but I’m confident that I can achieve this goal since I have great team-mates such as Pozzato and Visconti to cover my back and, in addition, I can rely on the great experience of a rider like Luca Paolini. We will have to play our cards right … and we will,” Nibali concluded.

The opposition has been warned.