Filippo Ganna is ready to defend his title in the elite men's time trial at the World Championships, knowing that the rainbow jersey will be decided by a small margin.

Ganna will be the last man standing at the start on Sunday afternoon, facing a tough battle with the Belgian duo of Remco Evenpole and Wout Van Aert and newly crowned European champion Stephan Kühn (Switzerland).

"Only 0.1% will make the difference," Ganna told La Gazzetta dello Sport (opens in new tab). 'Remco Evenpole and Wout Van Aert are riding at home. I am very happy that Lemko is back at a very high level. [Stefan Kühn has something more to give after his success in the European Championships, so he will make everyone suffer. Wout was flying more than pedaling at the Tour of Britain. And then there's Stefan Bissegger: ...... There are plenty of rivals.

Ganna was a lousy second at the European Championships in Trento, finishing eight seconds behind on the 22.4 km course. The World Championships will be held on a longer, flatter 43.3 km course from Knokke to Bruges with little elevation gain.

"It's fast, with crosswinds and a tailwind in places. 'There are a lot of straights and not many corners, so there's not a lot of places to make up ground. But we're calm and we have a good group of guys. The test went well in training pushing the big gears. I don't feel any pressure."

Ganna has seven time trial wins in the rainbow jersey, including all five of his time trial wins at the 2020 and 2021 Giro d'Italia. since winning the crown in Imola a year ago, the 2020 Giro remarkable solo victory at the Camigliatello Sirano, and a gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics as a pillar of the Italian Team Pursuit team.

"I've tasted this jersey and I like it. But if it doesn't happen, that means there was a stronger athlete than me and I will have to congratulate him.

"I talked about it with (Davide) Cassani: to regain the world record in individual pursuit at the World Championships at the end of October. It's not going to be easy. After Wednesday's race, I'll rest until Sunday, and even if I do a couple of one-day races in Italy, it will be just track until the end of the season. I'm going to compete in the Coppa Bernocchi, Tre Valli Varesine, and Gran Piemonte."