Filippo Ganna, Elia Viviani, Elisa Balsamo, and Letizia Paternoster are part of a strong Italian team competing in the UCI Track World Championships in Roubaix this week.

The track world championships were originally scheduled for the spring, but were rescheduled due to the end of the European season, the move from Turkmenistan to France, and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Racing will begin on Wednesday afternoon with Team Pursuit qualifying at the covered Jean Stavlinski Stadium in Roubaix (right next to the famous outdoor stadium), with racing in the afternoon and evening sessions through Sunday.

Ganna will once again support the Italian Team Pursuit team and will be looking for his fifth individual Pursuit title. His biggest rivals are Ashton Lambie (USA), the new world record holder, and his young teammate Jonathan Milano, who recently won the European title.

Viviani wrapped up the 2021 road racing season in Cofidis on Sunday, but will compete in the omnium and individual races later this week. He won the omnium at the 2016 Rio Olympics, but surprisingly has never won a world title on the track.

Also on the Italian men's track squad are Liam Bertazzo, Davide Boscaro, Simone Consonni, Francesco Ramon, Manlio Moro, and Michele Scartezzini.

Balsamo changes from her road race world champion jersey to an Italian blue jersey for the endurance race.

She crashed badly at the Omnium in Tokyo, but is back on form. She and Letizia Paternoster will team up in Madison and will also compete in Team Pursuit, which consists of young endurance racers Martina Alzini, Rachele Barbieri, Chiara Conssoni, Silvia Zanardi, and Martina Fidanza. Miriam Vece will compete in the sprint event.

The Roubaix World Championships will likely be Dino Savoldi's last long stint as head coach of the Italian national road and track team.

He has been instrumental in the success of the Italian national team for over 20 years and his athletes have won 250 medals, but it is widely expected that he will be cast aside by the new Italian president, Cordiano Dagnoni.