A year ago, Biniam Girmay won the silver medal in the under-23 road race at the UCI Road World Championships in Leuven, but after a remarkable season, the 22-year-old Eritrean is a dangerous outsider in Sunday's race, and Belgium, the Netherlands, France, He is a real concern for major countries like Italy.

In the spring, Gilmey outclassed his Classics rivals and became the first African to win the World Tour Classic when he outran Christophe Laporte, Dries van Gestel, and Jasper Stuyven to win Ghent-Wevelgem.

At the Giro d'Italia, Jessi won a stage by defeating Dutch rider Mathieu van der Pol, who had lost in a stage around Naples two days earlier, in a sprint win.

Gilmey could put in a similar performance in Sunday's elite men's road race and win the world title.

He has barely raced since injuring his cork eye on the podium of the Giro d'Italia and crashing at the Tour de Wallonie in late July. However, he is very fresh, having not raced the Tour de France, and is training at high altitude again at his home in Eritrea before his last race block at Intermarque Wanty-Gobert.

He has a top 10 finish in the one-day race. He finished third in the Quebec Grand Prix in Canada, and in the recent Wallonie Grand Prix, he climbed the Citadelle de Namur to finish second behind Van der Pol.

"I am very motivated. The World Championships is a once-a-year race for me. I'm getting better and better and my form is fine. We'll see on Sunday. I'm ready and so are my teammates. I'm looking forward to the race."

"Being called a contender or a favorite to win is a morale booster for me, but there are two sides to it. If you look at my performance this year, I know I can't take up a lot of space. When I move, all eyes will be on me. But that's okay."

Friday's under-23 road race and Thursday's training day helped the riders understand the difficulty of Wollongong's 266-km course, especially the impact of the climb up Mount Pleasant, and the need for positioning on the fast roads and many corners. Gilmey likes this course.

"I've seen the course and it's pretty good for me. It's a really nice course and I'm happy with the parcours," Gilmey said in a video interview with Visisport.

Eritrea has secured six slots in the men's road race, and Girmay is hoping that Europe-based Natnael Tesfacion, Melhawi Kudus, Amanuel Gebregxavier, and Henok Mulbruhan will help him in the final lap.

He knows he will likely be alone when the final attack takes place, but he is ready to take advantage of the other team's strength in numbers. Girmay knows that the smaller nations have often surprised the stronger teams.

"We are not the favorite team, but we still have a chance to win. We have six riders, all pro riders, all in good shape. We don't need to succeed in the race. It's more about tactics, playing more tactically. We need a clear plan

"Nathanael Tesfazion, Amanuel Gebrexavier, and Henoch Mourblanc have already proven they can handle a long race. I expect them to help me until the last two laps. If they do, it will be perfect. After that it will be up to me. I think the race will be similar to last year's under-23s and I won a medal there, so ......"

Gilmey added that he is not worried about the longer race distance.

"I'm not afraid of the distance. It's true that I don't have as much experience running long distances as some of the others, but this year I've run several races over 200 km, including Milan-San Remo, Ghent-Wevelgem, and most recently the Bretagne Classics."

"They all suited me and I always managed to finish there. For the past month, I have been training regularly for five to seven hours. I am confident that I am well prepared for the World Championships."

Like anyone, Gilmey is keeping a close eye on the big players.

"I have Wout Van Aert as my number one. And behind him will be Michael Matthews, who will be racing in his home country. The track seems to be made for him. At the Montreal GP, Tadej Pogachar also proved to be one of the favorites to win.

"Belgium is one of the big teams, but often the races are not what people or teams expect. We see which team is the strongest and we adjust to that. Things can change quickly

"That's something you have to decide in the race. You can't plan too much and you don't have a race radio. So you have to trust yourself and race on instinct."