Cycling World Championships in Glasgow: which eight top cyclists won't you have to look for during the road race?

Don't look for Primoz Roglic during the road race at the Cycling World Championships, because the 33-year-old Slovenian from Jumbo-Visma decided in mid-June that he would not be making an appearance in Glasgow. "The World Championship does not fit into the preparation for the Vuelta", the former ski jumper said at the time.

The in top shape Matej Mohoric, a compatriot of Roglic, will not be in the largest Scottish city by population. The versatile daredevil from Bahrain Victorious, who also won a stage in the most recent Tour de France, seemed an important contender beforehand.

Speaking to Sporza, the 28-year-old fast rider indicated that the "quality" of the Slovenian selection, which also includes Tadej Pogacar, was partly to blame for not participating. "On such a course, it is almost impossible to achieve a good result if you cannot control the day with your country. I don't think we can achieve that as a country. You have to be at the front of the race all day and stay out of trouble on such a chaotic course full of turns. The best countries with many domestiques have a great advantage on that circuit", said Mohoric.

Jumbo-Visma-Tour winner Jonas Vingegaard will also be absent from the World Championships, just like in 2022. The 26-year-old Scandinavian will also no atted the the Time Trial World Championships. After his Tour victory, Vingegaard wants to spend some time with his family before he slowly but surely starts preparing for the Vuelta, where he will start together with Roglic.

Pello Bilbao is in good form, as evidenced by his sixth place (and stage win) in the Tour de France and his second place in the Clasica San Sebastián, won by Remco Evenepoel. However, the versatile rider from Bahrain Victorious is not part of the eight-man Spanish armada.

Filippo Ganna will also be absent from the World Championships. The Italian time trial specialist from INEOS Grenadiers represents the 'Azzuri' in track cycling on August 3, 4 and 5. Participating in the grueling battle on Sunday, therefore, does not fit into the schedule. The same goes for Giro revelation Jonathan Milan. Ganna will, however, start at the Time Trial World Championships on August 11.

On this course, a good Pidcock could have easily competed for the medals, but the Brit, as often, opts for mountain biking. After an exhausting Tour de France, he is doing the same as after the spring: making the switch cold turkey. This went very well at the time with two World Cup victories, can Pidcock also compete for the world title on the MTB? The Tokyo 2021 Olympic champion has never won the elite World Championships.

Biniam Girmay was certainly an outsider for the World Championships, the Eritrean didn't make it a secret that the rainbow jersey was a goal in itself this season. However, a crash in the Clasica San Sebastián threw all plans into chaos. Girmay is in too much pain to participate on Saturday.