Spain has announced its entry for the UCI Road World Championships in Yorkshire (opens in new tab), and world champion Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) will once again lead the team. Valverde's support team is made up of riders who are close to the team leader to help the team work together on the Harrogate circuit.

The 39-year-old Valverde, who just finished second in the Vuelta a España after winning a sprint from a small group in Innsbruck last year, will be joined by Movistar teammates Jose Joaquin Rojas, Marc Soler, and Imanol Erbiti.

In the elite men's road race, countries ranked in the top 10 can field eight riders, but Spain qualified nine thanks to Valverde's victory in Innsbruck last year.

The Astana trio of Ion Izaguirre, Gorka Izaguirre, and Luis Leon Sanchez, along with former Movistar players such as Jonathan Castroviejo (Team Ineos), make up a strong squad. Iván García Cortina (Bahrain-Merida) is the only rider who has never run as Valverde's teammate.

Castroviejo, who finished third in the Qatar time trial in 2016, will participate in the time trial. Luis Mas (Movistar) will also compete in the time trial.

Outside of Valverde, who has five wins this year, including stage 7 of the Vuelta and the Spanish national championships, Ion Izaguirre has had the most successful 2019 campaign. The Basque rider won the Vuelta a Valenciana, the Tour of the Basque Country, and the Paris-Nice stage.

Meanwhile, Sanchez won a stage at the Tour de Suisse and the overall at the Vuelta a Murcia, while Gorka Izazire won the Tour de la Provence. A punchy sprinter, Cortina is likely to be Valverde's main backup, but the 23-year-old has no senior world championship experience.

"Like any team that understands Valverde perfectly, we have designed a very competitive team, looking for what routes and how the race will unfold," new national team director Pascual Montparel told Marca.

"The route layout makes it difficult to approach the cars and give them easy instructions, especially after entering the circuit. So it is important that the riders already understand Valverde."

The first event of the World Championships will be the new 28 km mixed relay, which has been trialled at the European Championships. Spain will send Castroviejo, Mas, Sebastián Mora (Caja Rural Seguros RGA), and the Movistar women's trio of Lourdes Oyarbide, Mavi García and Shayla Gutiérrez.

In addition to Garcia, Oyarbide, and Gutierrez, the women's road race will feature Ana Santesteban (WNT-Rotar) and trade teammates Aider Merino and Alicia Gonzalez. Spain's U-23 and junior members have not yet been revealed.

Spain will not only be competing for medals and the prestigious rainbow jersey, but also for a spot in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Only the top six nations in the UCI Olympic qualifying rankings can take five athletes to Japan next year, so the Yorkshire standings and points could affect Valverde's hopes of ending his career with an Olympic gold medal.

The results of the Vuelta a España saw Slovenia move up from 8724.74 points to 8636.12 points ahead of Spain in sixth place. Belgium, Italy, France, the Netherlands, and Colombia round out the top five.

The Spanish riders must have "at least 100 points" more than their point total by the end of the season, as the rolling ranking cutoff will take place at the end of the season on October 27.

For example, last season Valverde earned 805 points for his World Championship win and his performance in the Italian One-Day Classic, but all of these points will be struck from his record and replaced with 2019 point totals in these races.

Spain's 290 points from Il Lombardia and the Tour of Guangxi will also be matched or surpassed by Slovenia's points from Roglic and Pogachar to send a full field to Tokyo.

Elite Men's Road Race (September 29): Jonathan Castroviejo, Imanol Erbiti, Ivan Garcia Cortina, Gorka Izagirre, Ion Izagirre, Jose Joaquin Rojas, Luis Leon Sanchez, Marc Soler, Alejandro Valverde.

Elite men's time trial (September 22): Jonathan Castroviejo, Luis Mas

Elite women's road race (September 28): Mavi Garcia, Alicia Gonzalez, Shayla Gutierrez, Aider Merino, Lourdes Oyarbide, Ana Santesteban

Elite women's time trial (September 24): Lourdes Oyarbide, Gloria Rodriguez

Mixed relay (September 21): Jonathan Castroviejo, Luis Mas, Sebastian Mora, Lourdes Oyarbide, Mavi Garcia, Sheila Gutierrez.