For the second year in a row, the world championships kick off with a team time trial for trade teams and in its short existence, the new invention has gained plenty of prestige. While many teams just hope to get safely through the day, it is an extremely important event for the teams that really specialize in the discipline. A flat course in Florence offers the perfect venue for the biggest specialists and there will be a fierce battle for the highly prestigious title as the world's strongest team.

When the UCI reintroduced the team time trial for last year's world championships in Limburg, it was a re-emergence of a historical and prestigious event that had disappeared. From 1962 to 1994, the beautiful discipline was an important part of the road world championships and carried huge importance. Like all other events at the global championships, it was, however, a match between national teams who battled it out with 4-rider rosters over often long distances of around 100km.

When the UCI decided to put the discipline back on the Worlds programme, it was not in its original format. The international federation listened to the sponsors that wanted to get increased exposure in one of cycling's biggest events and made it one for the trade teams. Instead of a stand-alone battle between the national teams, the event was introduced as an opportunity to find the world's best among the teams that regularly battle each other in the discipline.

UCI could probably not have wished a better debut than the 2012 event in Limburg. From the very beginning, many of the teams placed huge emphasis on the race and organized specific training camps to prepare for the big day. Similarly, the riders greeted its welcome return and many of the specialists made it one of their end-of-season targets.

For many teams who don't specialize in the discipline, the race remains one to get over with but for the squads that excel in the collective race against the clock, it is a clear target with plenty of meticulous preparation and careful roster selections. When the reintroduction was announced, Garmin-Sharp even signed riders with the specific purpose of getting onto the top step of the podium in late September. In that sense, the event is like a time trial in a grand tour: for many of the teams it's just about getting safely through the day but for the few select specialists, it's of huge importance.

Unlike the other world championships, there's no rainbow jersey on offer and the winning team only gets the less visible recognition of a print on their jerseys. Despite this criticized fact, it's a huge honour for the teams to refer to themselves as the world's strongest. While individual riders often get most attention in the usual races, this gives the teams and their sponsors a rare opportunity to put themselves in the spotlight and alongside the WorldTour ranking, it offers the only chance of gauging the trade teams against each other.

Team time trials are no unique event as many stage races have a collective race against the clock included on their route. However, the world championships TTT is a different beast to what the riders are used to. In times gone by, team time trials were often held over long distances of more than 60km but nowadays organizers prefer to keep them much shorter to avoid too big time differences that may eliminate many potential winners. Grand tour team time trials are usually no longer than 30km and in smaller stage races, they are even shorter.

As opposed to this, the world championships are held on much longer courses. Last year the winner was found on a 53,2km course in Limburg and this year's 57,2km route is even longer. At the same time, the rosters are considerably smaller than in stage races where 8- or 9-rider teams are usually the standard. In the battle for the global honour, the teams can only select 6 riders with the time of the 4th rider being the one that counts. This makes cohesion and careful race planning even more important as the teams try to maximize their gains from each rider's strength.

Last year Omega Pharma-Quick Step became the first world champions in a thrilling battle with BMC. Tom Boonen, Sylvain Chavanel, Tony Martin, Niki Terpstra, Kristof Vandewalle and Peter Velits waited nervously in the hot seat while BMC was about to produce a ride that could potentially better their performance. However, Tejay van Garderen rode too fast up the Cauburg towards the end of the race and as a result, the team had to slow down to wait for Taylor Phinney. In the end, they missed 3.23 seconds and had to settle for 2nd while Orica-GreenEDGE showed their strength in the discipline by finishing 3rd on a course that didn't do them many favours. All three teams are back in strong formations with Omega Pharma-Quick Step being eager to defend their title with a roster that is almost identical to last year's as only an injured Tom Boonen has been replaced by Michal Kwiatkowski.

The course

Last year's course was highly unusual for team time trials which are often held on rather flat, non-technical courses that suit the powerful specialists. The organizers decided to send the riders up many of the climbs that characterize the Limburg province and like the road races and the individual time trials, the top of the famous Cauberg was located just 1km from the finish line.

The course for this year's road race has been described as the hardest since 1995 but the organizers haven't been tempted to make the courses for the time trials similarly difficult. Instead, the specialists lick their lips in anticipation of what is a very classical high-speed course with few technical challenges.

The 57,2km course is slightly longer than last year's and starts in Montecatini Terme close to Florence. From there, the riders head along mostly straight roads in a northeastern direction towards Pistoia and that opening stretch contains the course's only climb Serravalle Pistoriese whose top is located at the 7,3km mark. A short descent leads back to flat roads that takes the riders to Pistoia at the 15,7km mark.

In Pistoia, the riders make a right-hand turn to start their southeastern journey towards Florence and from there, the course will be identical with the one used for the women earlier in the day. Straight, flat roads bring the riders to the host city of this year's world championships where they will face the only technical complication on the route. 14 sharp corners inside the final 10km of the race will break the monotony that otherwise characterizes the course. The final of those are two sharp right-hand corners in quick succession that lead onto the 0,77km finishing straight. Intermediate times will be taken at the 7,31, 24,09 and 42,30km marks. The time trial specialist couldn't have asked for a better course and this is a race that will be decided by power and speed more than technical prowess.

The team time trial will give the time trial riders the chance to preview the ITT course at race speed as the course is almost completely identical to the one used for Wednesday's individual event. That day the route will be 700m longer and the only difference between the two races is the approach to the finish line with Wednesday's race offering a slightly more technical final part.

The weather

Summer has reached Florence and the riders could not have wished better conditions for the opening of the world championships. The temperatures will stay around the 25-degree mark for the entire race. The initially bright sunshine may gradually disappear in favour of more clouds but it should have little impact on the racing.

There will be a constant, light wind from a northeastern direction which means that the riders will have a headwind on the first stretch to Pistoia before turning into a crosswind for the rest of the race. Luckily, the conditions won't change during the day and so no teams will be favoured by the weather. The headwind section will make power even more important and suits the teams that have the strongest riders.

The favourites

For the second year in a row, the team time trial has been taken very seriously by the specialist teams and most of the usual top performers in the stage race TTTs have lined up very powerful rosters that have prepared specifically for the event. The UCI could hardly have wished a better start list as most of the greatest time trial specialists are prepared to lead their team in Sunday's collective race which also offers them a chance to preview the course for Wednesday's time trial.

With small 6-rider rosters, the importance of every single rider increases and it's almost impossible to win the event with a weak link. A win requires every rider to be able to make a solid contribution. When it comes to allround strength, one team marks itself out as the major favourite. Defending champions Omega Pharma-Quick Step have made it clear that they will go all in to defend their title and they have lined up a formidable team to support their ambitions.

The squad of Tony Martin, Niki Terpstra, Michal Kwiatkowski, Sylvain Chavanel, Peter Velits and Kristof Vandewalle is almost identical to last year's with Kwitakowski having replaced an injured Tom Boonen. With the Pole being one of the strongest time tralists in the world, this should be no disadvantage and it is hard to imagine a stronger collection of specialists gathered on the same team. Martin, Kwiatkowski, Velits and Chavanel are all regular top 10 finishers in WorldTour time trials while Terpstra and Vandewalle both have posted regular good results as well. Only Kwiatkowski and Terpstra aren't national time trial champions and those two riders both finished runner-ups in the battle for national glory.

While the squad is generally very homogenous, Martin is of course the big motor. The German has almost single-handedly won team time trials in the past and with a stronger team around him, he should avoid a repeat of the Vuelta performance where he blew the team to pieces too early in the race. With his goal in the individual time trial coming up, Martin is in red-hot condition and has done plenty of specific training for these kinds of events. Terpstra proved in Canada that he is at his best and while Kwiatkowski, Chavanel and Velits have all shown not to be as strong as they were earlier this season, their general time trialing skills will come in handy on Sunday. Vandewalle crashed out of the Vuelta but proved on Wednesday in the GP de Wallonie that he has recovered from his injuries. With a win in the Tirreno-Adriatico and a 2nd in the Tour de France team time trials - they would have won the latter if Martin hadn't been suffering from his stage 1 crash - the team has been one of the most consistent this year and will be the one to beat in Sunday's race.

During the last two season, Orica-GreenEDGE have the best track record when it comes to flat team time trial. Last year the team triumphed in both the Tirreno-Adriatico and the Eneco Tour and this year they added the hugely prestigious Tour de France team time trial to their palmares. The team couldn't have wished a better course for this year's world championships and is one of the major favourites to win the race.

However, the main strength of the Australian team is the depth of their roster. Few teams are capable of lining up a similarly homogeneous team with 9 strong time trialists for a grand tour team time trial. However, that advantage is reduced for the world championships where the smaller 6-rider rosters do not offer the same reward for their depth. Svein Tuft, Brett Lancaster, Daryl Impey, Luke Durbridge, Jens Mouris and Michael Hepburn form a team of solid time trialists that are ready to improve on last year's 3rd place achieved on a course that didn't do them many favours. While Tuft and Durbridge are strong powerhouses, they are, however, not the kind of motors like Tony Martin, Fabian Cancellara and Taylor Phinney that play a crucial role on such small rosters. A win will be difficult to achieve but depth and homogeneity may earn Orica-GreenEDGE a top result.

Last year BMC finished a close second behind Omega Pharma-Quick Step and the American team once again has big expectations for the event. Compared to last year's line-up of Tejay van Garderen, Marco Pinotti, Manuel Quinziato, Talor Phinney, Philippe Gilbert and Alessandro Ballan, Pinotti, Gilbert and Ballan have been replaced by Daniel Oss, Michael Schär and Stephen Cummings with the team substituting some of its smaller riders with their big engines who are better suited to this kind of powerful course. As Pinotti explained to CyclingQuotes, the team chose to let him focus on the time trial as he lacked the power to get onto the roster.

Riders like van Garderen and Cummings are more versatile riders than the traditional time trial specialists and may be less suited to tomorrow's course. On the other hand, Oss, Quinziato and Schär both have enormous power despite not being among the best time trialists in the world and are well-suited to the kind of effort that awaits on Saturday. Phinney will act as the main driving force on the long, flat stretches  and the team's main strength is certainly the presence of the American. Few teams have prepared the event more meticulously and it was striking how the team performed more laps on the final part of the circuit than any other during Saturday's recon ride.

While the team looks strong on paper, the team has, however, not performed too well earlier this year. Many of tomorrow's starters were part of the teams that finished a disappointing 12th and 9th in the Giro and Tour respectively and the 3rd place in the Tirreno-Adriatico team time trial is the only top result this year. The team remains a genuine podium candidate but it is hard to imagine the Americans beating Omega Pharma-Quick Step.

Last year Radioshack didn't put much emphasis on the world championships but things have changed for the second running of the event. It is no coincidence that Fabian Cancellara has been asked to line up as part of a very strong 6-rider roster despite his heavy focus on the road race. The Swiss is in blistering condition at the moment and while his weight loss may be costly on this kind of flat course, the presence of the Swiss powerhouse cannot be underestimated.

With their track backgrounds, Jesse Sergent who recently did a very good time trial in the Eneco Tour, and Hayden Roulston are perfectly suited to this kind of high-speed course and young Bob Jungels will be another extremely useful member of the squad. Yaroslav Popovych has long been known as a very important rider in team time trials and will be the rider that keeps things together during the race. With solid time trialist Markel Irizar completing the roster, the team has both the depth and top level to be in contention for the win and they would love to improve on their recent 2nd place in the Vuelta.

In recent years, few teams have put more emphasis on team time trials than Garmin-Sharp and team boss Jonathan Vaughters desperately wants to win the world championships.  Last year the team was forced to line up without its biggest engines and finished a modest 10th. This year they want to make amends and have lined up a very powerful roster consisting of David Zabriskie, David Millar, Christian Vande Velde, Tyler Farrar, Rohan Dennis and Andrew Talansky.

On paper, that kind of roster would put the team close to the top of the list of favourites. While Millar and Zabriskie are both powerful riders suited to this kind of course, their time trialing ability has deteriorated in recent years. Rohan Dennis' track background makes him a perfect fit to this kind of course and he proved at the Dauphiné that he is able to transfer his power to flat routes on the road. While Talansky and to a lesser extent Vande Velde are good time trialists, they do, however, not have the kind of big power that is necessary for this race. Farrar's sprint power will be useful in the beginning but he is likely to get dropped rather early. With a small 6-rider roster, any rider loss will be costly. Garmin will surely be in the mix but with their biggest engines having faded in recent years, a win is probably beyond their reach.

Team Sky is one of the best teams for team time trials with a win in the Giro d'Italia and 3rd place in the Tour de France already on their 2013 palmares. Team principal Dave Brailsford had claimed that they would not give the world championships too much priority with the race being run concurrently with the Tour of Britain. Nonetheless, the team has lined up an extremely powerful roster with Chris Froome, Richie Porte, Vasil Kiryienka, Kanstantsin Siutsou, Edvald Boasson Hagen and Geraint Thomas.

That kind of team will certainly be in medal contention but a win is probably beyond their reach. All riders were part of the team that finished 3rd at the Tour de France on a similarly flat course and on that occasion, key riders like Froome and Porte were in the form of their life. That's certainly not the case this time and their performance in France suggests that most of their riders do not have the very high power that is necessary for this kind of course. Thomas and Boasson Hagen may possess the required strength but Froome, Kiryienka, Siutsou and Porte may lack the top speed that is required to battle the likes of Martin, Cancellara and Phinney. Froome may have finished 2nd in the flat Tour de France time trial but there's a big difference between the effort in a team and an individual time trial. With the team having also played down the importance of the event, Sky is a very likely top 5 finisher but the lowest step of the podium is probably their highest achievable result.

Astana won the team trial at the Vuelta and most of their riders will be part of their roster for the Worlds. However, the team is much less suited to Sunday's flat course than the technical, lumpy one in Galicia. Tanel Kangert, Janes Brajkovic and Jakob Fuglsang all time trial well but they need a hillier course to express their talents maximally. Andriy Grivko and Dmitriy Gruzdev will serve as main motors on the long flat stretches while Alessandro Vanotti is known as a very reliable team time trialist. There are no weak links on the Kazakh team but they lack the power to contend for the medals. A top 5 is probably the summit of their ambitions.

Finally, Movistar deserve a mention. The team has used plenty of resources to improve in the team time trials and the results are there to prove it. A win in last year's Vuelta and 2nd places in the Tirreno-Adriatico and the Giro d'Italia prove that the Spaniards cannot be underestimated. Jonathan Castroviejo will be the main powerhouse on the squad and Ruben Plaza, Rui Costa, Jesus Herrada, Andrey Amador and Eloy Teruel are all talented time trialists. Apart from Teruel, they are, however, all versatile riders that lack the top power to contend with the specialists and this was proved when they finished a modest 7th in the Tour de France. Had it been a different course, Movistar would have been a podium candidate but for now their only realistic target is a top 5 performance.

***** Omega Pharma-Quick Step

**** Orica-GreenEDGE, BMC

*** Radioshack, Garmin-Sharp, Sky

** Astana, Movistar,

* Belkin, Argos-Shimano