21 nations at Chrono des Nations

Renamed Chrono des Nations, the Chrono des Herbiers in France has attracted riders from 21 different countries. World hour record holder Ondrej Sosenka will defend his title under the pressure of Vladimir Gusev who came second and third in the past two years. Another favourite for the event is Brian Vandborg after his fourth place at the world championship. In the women's category, Zulfia Zabirova from Kazakhstan will try to win the event for the fifth time against the likes of Priska Doppman from Switzerland, France's Jeannie Longo and Kathy Watt from Australia.

The 25 Elite starters:

Laura Weislo has been with Cyclingnews since 2006 after making a switch from a career in science. As Managing Editor, she coordinates coverage for North American events and global news. As former elite-level road racer who dabbled in cyclo-cross and track, Laura has a passion for all three disciplines. When not working she likes to go camping and explore lesser traveled roads, paths and gravel tracks. Laura specialises in covering doping, anti-doping, UCI governance and performing data analysis.