On paper Andrew Talansky is one of the strongest American riders for the hard world championships course in Florence but the Garmin-Sharp rider doesn't expect to mix it up with the best guys on Sunday. At the end of a long season that includes a maiden Tour de France participation, the American feels tired and expects to play a support role for compatriots Tejay van Garderen and Chris Horner.

It has been a good 2013 season for Andrew Talansky who has taken a further step towards the top of the sport. Following a successful 2012 season in which he finished 2nd in the Tour de Romandie and 7th in the Vuelta a Espana, his progression has continued nicely with several great performances in the biggest stage races.

He was on fire right from the beginning of the season when he won a stage and finished 2nd overall in the Paris-Nice. Illness hampered his Tour de Romandie and Criterium du Dauphiné campaigns but he bounced back strongly on the final stage of the latter when he bridged across to Richie Porte and Chris Froome on the final climb to the finish and even left the Australian behind. He went on to ride a consistent Tour de France and finished 10th in his first ever participation in the world's biggest race.

Since then we haven't seen much from the talented American who has been fatigued at the end of what has been a long season. He was unable to make an impression on GC in the USA Pro Challenge but did a good time trial to finish 2nd behind Tejay van Garderen.

This week he is in Florence for the world championships where he will do the full schedule of the team and individual time trials and the road race. He was part of a disappointing 8th for his Garmin-Sharp on Sunday but had a bad ride in the time trial to finish 46th.

That result was indicative for his sensations at the end of a long season. The road race is held on a hard course that suits him well but he doesn't expect to feature at the pointy end of the race.

"We'll see," he told CyclingQuotes after doing a recon ride on the course. "Something good could happen but it's been a long season for me. I'm a bit tired so I prefer to help somebody who can get a result here than ride for myself."

The American team is a strong one with Talansky being joined by Vuelta champion Chris Horner and recent USA Pro Challenge winner Tejay van Garderen. Peter Stetina and Matthew Busche will provide important support on the climbs while Alex Howes and Taylor Phinney complete the roster.

Rarely before has the nature of a world championships course been up for so much debate as the one for this year's race in Florence. Climbers and classics riders alike have all targeted Sunday's race as a genuine opportunity to get possession of  the rainbow jersey with nobody really knowing whether the route is too easy for the pure climbers or to hard for the punchier guys.

Consisting mostly of climbers, the American team hopes for a hard race. However, Talansky was convinced that the race was more one for classics riders than for the true mountain goats.

"It's difficult," he said. "It's a typical championships circuit. There are a couple of hard climbs. There's not too much flat. It's always up and down, newly paved, really fast. I think it's a good championship circuit."

"It's definitely not one for a pure climber but the steep final climb is one on which someone like [Nairo] Quintana could take off and go to the finish."

That assessment means that Talansky doesn't expect his team to take the initiative in the race.

"We don't have a big classics rider type but between Tejay and Horner, we have two guys who are riding really well," he said. "Especially Tejay has a bit more of a sprint and if he comes to the finish in a small group, he could be good."

Starting at 10.00 CEST you can follow Sunday's race on CyclingQuotes.com/live.