Chris Froome is still recovering from a broken navicular, which forced him to abandon the Vuelta a Espana earlier this month, while Mark Cavendish has been ruled out after undergoing shoulder surgery in the aftermath of a Tour of Britain crash. Add to that list of absentees the name of Geraint Thomas, who has had a long and exerting season and said he didn't feel physically up to the Worlds.
That has caused somewhat of a rethink in the British camp, who as yet don't have a set plan of attack revolving around a certain rider. Steve Cummings, who was 14th in Wednesday's individual time trial, is one of the riders in the nine-man team and comes into the road race on the back of one of his most successful seasons, the zenith of which came with his solo stage win at the Tour de France.
Alongside Cummings, Great Britain's team comprises Ian Stannard, Ben Swift, Andy Fenn, Luke Rowe, Scott Thwaites, Alex Dowsett, and Adam Yates. The team as yet has not announced a replacement for Cavendish, despite Adam Blythe being linked with a call-up.
"The team is what the team is - I think it's still strong. We're not the favourites but we have some riders who can do well," Cummings says in this video interview with Cyclingnews.
"I don't think we have an out-and-out favourite. We haven't discussed it yet. If someone puts their hand up and says they're really in good shape then maybe we can help that rider, but there's a lot of us who are not favourites but can spring as a surprise. So we'll take our opportunities as individuals - but ride as a team at the same time."
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