The much awaited 2010 UCI Road World Championships kick off today with the under 23 men and elite women taking to the time trial course in pursuit of the first to rainbow jerseys up for grabs in Geelong.

Australia will be represented by Vicki Whitelaw (ACT), Shara Gillow (QLD) and Alexis Rhodes (SA). In the under 23 men’s time trial, Luke Durbridge (WA) and Rohan Denis (SA) will fly the Aussie flag when competition gets underway.

This is the first time the Championships have been held in Australia and the strongest field of cyclists to assemble down under since the Sydney Olympic Games ten years ago.

Canberra’s Whitelaw will lead the Australian women’s assault and believes that the home town championships will provide an invaluable advantage.

“Since February this year we’ve had an opportunity to really go over the course, to break it down into sections and do some course simulations,” said Whitelaw, who has two top twenty finishes at two previous world championships.

”I feel that this year is going to be a better year as the course suits me better than the previous ones in Switzerland and Italy.

“Plus, I’ve been building throughout the year and I’ve had a really solid racing calendar which has really suited me," she said adding,

"A top ten result would be fantastic for me, but I’m just going out there to do my best."

The women will complete one lap of the 22.7 kilometre course around Geelong at 3pm, with the under 23 kickstarting the championships at 10am.

South Australia’s Rohan Dennis and West Australian Luke Durbridge will have the opportunity to claim the first Australian world championship medal on home soil when they contest the two laps of the 15.8 kilometre course.

“The course is a lot tougher than I expected and people will have to pace themselves as the second lap could be pretty brutal,” said Dennis, the reigning under 23 time trial Australian.

Durbridge, runner up to Dennis in the Australian championship earlier this year, is looking forward to tackling the tough course in front of a parochial home crowd.

“It’s an amazing atmosphere, like nothing we’ve ever had in Australia and people have been coming up to us, giving support,” added the 2009 under 19 time trial world champion.

The first time in the championships history, the event will be held in the southern hemisphere. In another first, the elite men's road race will start and finish in different cities - Melbourne and Geelong. The championships culminate on Sunday with the blue-ribbon event, the elite men's 262.7km road race.

Esteemed cycling commentator Phil Liggett said on Twitter the 15.9km circuit around Geelong was harder than many cyclists had initially anticipated.

"Took a while, but riders are now realising that the World's course is not for sprinters!" Liggett tweeted on Tuesday.

Host nation Australia will defend the elite men's road race title, with Cadel Evans returning in a bid to win back-to-back titles on a course near his Australian base at Barwon Heads.

Evans became the first Australian to win the elite men's rainbow jersey in Mendrisio, Switzerland last year.

“It’s been an honour to wear the jersey for a year, to not have it would be disappointing that’s for sure,” Cadel said. “Of course, I go for the best result I can, and obviously to repeat last year is the ultimate.”

The 33-year-old will be a part of a two-tier approach by the Australian team with Simon Gerrans another attack point in the race to thwart the efforts expected from contenders such as Fabian Cancellara (SUI), Filippo Pozzato (ITA), Oscar Freire (ESP) and Philippe Gilbert (BEL).

Cyclists in the men's race will ride from Melbourne to Geelong before embarking on 11 laps of the 15.9km circuit around the seaside city.

The women's race, solely held in Geelong, will be completed over eight laps of the circuit for a total of 127.2km.

Ruth Corset (AUS) is the current national champion and was the best placed of the Australians (12th) in Mendrisio last year when Tatiana Guderzo (ITA) prevailed.

Corset is expected to be the team leader despite a crash leaving the mother-of-two with cuts and bruises to her left hand at the Ballarat Classic on Sunday.

Cycling Australia & 2010 World Championships