UCI Road World Championships: Women's road race preview

From left, Pauline Ferrand-Prevot, Lizzie Armitstead and Jolien D'hoore are among the favourites for victory in Richmond

Defending champion Pauline Ferrand-Prevot and bookmakers’ favourite Lizzie Armitstead will lead a high-calibre field for the elite women’s World Championship road race in the United States on Saturday.

The race will be held over 129.6km in Richmond on a rolling course that promises to produce an action-packed spectacle. 

Here is everything you need to know about the race…

WHEN DOES IT TAKE PLACE?

Saturday, September 26.

Start time: 6pm BST. Estimated finish time: 9.25pm BST.

THE COURSE

The race takes place over eight laps of a rolling 16.2km circuit.

The course hinges on three climbs: two on cobbles measuring 200m and then 100m in length, followed by a 300m final climb on asphalt leading to a 680m false flat to the finish. The 100m climb is the steepest of the three, reaching a maximum gradient of 18 per cent.

The climbs, combined with the flat finish, throw up multiple possibilities for how the race will pan out and which type of rider could prevail. Climbers, sprinters, classics specialists and all-rounders all appear to be in with credible chance, while a mass-bunch sprint, a reduced-bunch sprint, a small-group sprint and a solo escape are all equally viable outcomes.

THE FAVOURITES

LIZZIE ARMITSTEAD

Armitstead is the reigning British road race champion

Age: 26. Nationality: British. Sky Bet odds: 4/1.

Armitstead has been one of the most consistent performers in the sport in recent years, winning the UCI Women's Road World Cup in each of the past two seasons, but a career-defining victory such as in the world road race still eludes her. However, she can climb, ride on cobbles and sprint well, so the Richmond course appears to suit her well and, whichever way the race pans out, she should be there in the final reckoning.

PAULINE FERRAND-PREVOT

Ferrand-Prevot (left) sprinted to victory in last year's race

Age: 23. Nationality: French.  Sky Bet odds: 11/2.

Ferrand-Prevot returns as the defending champion and there is nothing to suggest a second successive title is out of the question. Such is the breadth of her remarkable talent, she is the current women's world champion on the road, in cyclo-cross and mountain biking. She can climb well and, as she proved in last year's world road race, she can also win a sprint finish.

JOLIEN D'HOORE

D'hoore has enjoyed an excellent 2015 season

Age: 25. Nationality: Belgian. Sky Bet odds: 6/1.

D'hoore has enjoyed the best season of her career and goes into the World Championships in good form, having won the World Cup event in Vargarda, Sweden, last month and then claimed two stages of the Boels Rental Ladies Tour at the start of September. She finished second at the Tour of Flanders in April, which proved she has the credentials to flourish on the Richmond course.

ANNA VAN DER BREGGEN

Anna van der Breggen is the big hope for the Netherlands

Age: 25. Nationality: Dutch. Sky Bet odds: 6/1.

Van der Breggen is an expert in classics-style racing, having won Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and La Fleche Wallonne this year, as well as finishing third in both the Tour of Flanders and Trofeo Alfredo Binda. She is a powerhouse rider who is lethal when she goes on solo attacks, but she can also produce a fast sprint when needed. She finished second in the women's time trial on Tuesday, so has good form.

ELISA LONGO BORGHINI

Elisa Longo Borghini won this year's Tour of Flanders

Age: 23. Nationality: Italian. Sky Bet odds: 50/1.

Longo Borghini is more of an outsider but should be right at home on the cobbled climbs of the Richmond course, having won the Tour of Flanders solo in stunning fashion back in April. She won the Route de France stage race last month and then finished fifth at the Boels Rental Ladies Tour earlier in September, so she arrives Stateside in decent condition.

PAST WINNERS

2014: Pauline Ferrand-Prevot (Fra)

2013: Marianne Vos (Ned) 

2012: Marianne Vos (Ned) 

2011: Giorgia Bronzini (Ita) 

2010: Giorgia Bronzini (Ita) 

Marianne Vos is a three-time world road race champion but is absent this year

2009: Tatiana Guderzo (Ita) 

2008: Nicole Cooke (GB) 

2007: Marta Bastianelli (Ita) 

2006: Marianne Vos (Ned)

2005: Regina Schleicher (Ger)

SELECTED TEAMS AND RIDERS

Australia: Tiffany Cromwell, Gracie Elvin, Katrin Garfoot, Lauren Kitchen, Rachel Neylan, Loren Rowney, Amanda Spratt, Lizzie Williams.

Belgium: Jesse Daams, Sofie De Vuyst, Jolien D'hoore, Annelies Dom, Kaat Hannes, Anisha Vekemans.

France: Pauline Ferrand-Prevot, Aude Biannic, Audrey Cordon, Elise Delzenne, Roxane Fournier, Pascale Jeuland, Amelie Rivat.

Germany: Charlotte Becker, Lisa Brennauer, Kathrin Hammes, Romy Kasper, Claudia Lichtenberg, Stephanie Pohl, Trixi Worrack.

Great Britain: Lizzie Armitstead, Alice Barnes, Lucy Garner, Hayley Simmonds, Jessie Walker, Molly Weaver.

Italy: Marta Bastianelli, Girogia Bronzini, Elena Cecchini, Tatiana Guderzo, Elisa Longo Borghini, Valentina Scandolara, Silvia Valsecchi.

Netherlands: Chantal Blaak, Lucinda Brand, Roxane Knetemann, Amy Pieters, Iris Slappendel, Anna van der Breggen, Ellen van Dijk.

United States: Megan Guarnier, Lauren Komanski, Shelley Olds, Coryn Rivera, Lauren Stephens, Evelyn Stevens, Tayler Wiles.