Filippo Ganna (open in new tab) has hinted that he may break the four-minute barrier in the men's individual pursuit at the UCI Track World Championships (open in new tab), which begin Wednesday in Berlin, but the record may be Italy's only moment of success after injuries and illness struck the men's and women's teams

Italy's record may be its only moment of success.

Italian athletes are preparing for the World Championships at the Montichiari stadium near Brescia and have not been affected by the coronavirus (opens in new tab) outbreak in Lombardy and Veneto. But more common illnesses and injuries have forced national coaches Marco Villa and Dino Savoldi to make difficult choices about the final squad for the race, which begins Wednesday in Berlin.

On Monday, Italy trained with the Chinese national team on the Berlin track and are staying in the same hotel, but denied any problems or risk of infection from the virus, which originated in Wuhan and has spread throughout China.

"We are following the instructions of the Italian Ministry of Health. The Chinese team has been training in Grenchen, Switzerland, for the past few weeks and we have been told that the UCI has done the necessary checks."

Ganna is a source of optimism and ambition for the men's team. He clocked 4:02.647 at the Minsk World Cup last November and is rumored to be in even better shape after final training and testing. Ganna won individual Pursuit world titles in 2016, 2018, and 2019.

"I worked hard this week and the tests went as expected. For sure I want the rainbow jersey again and a record would be great," Ganna told La Gazzetta dello Sport before heading to Berlin.

"I'm feeling good. We're right on schedule and we'll see what happens soon."

The 23-year-old Ganna anchored the men's team pursuit in Wednesday's qualifying round and will focus on the individual events later in the World Championships. However, the men's and women's team pursuit squads have been plagued by injuries recently, forcing Italy to lower its medal expectations.

The men's foursome set a new Italian record of 3:39 in Glasgow in November, but Liam Bertazzo is out of action and Davide Prevani has been ill for the past few days. Simone Consonni has been forced to travel to Berlin early so that she can join the Team Pursuit crew as soon as possible.

Italy is currently ranked 5th in the Men's Team Pursuit and is almost certain to compete in Tokyo.

The women's Team Pursuit is also ranked fifth and is recovering from illness. The team recently trained at high altitude in Colombia, but Elisa Balsamo and Vittoria Guazzini came down with the flu during the final block of training, interrupting an important test. Maria Giulia Confalonieri has been selected for the national team in Berlin, but recently crashed while racing in Spain.

Letizia Paternoster leads Azzurre in Team Pursuit and will concentrate on the omnium.

"It was my first time at altitude, but it went well. I am determined to do my best, even if I suffer from an illness. I want to recover quickly and go for a medal. Berlin is the beginning of an important moment and Tokyo will be my big goal," she said.

Meanwhile, Elia Viviani completed the Volta ao Algarve on Sunday and has been training on the Montichiari course for the past few days. He has abandoned the team pursuit to concentrate on the omnium and Madison.

"It's going to be a low-key World Championships for me," Viviani admitted. 'The Olympics are a big event for me and I don't want to let the World Championships put a damper on my spring road racing.'