Former Tour de France champion Geraint Thomas, speaking to BBC Sport before the race: "With the road race I can have my job in the team and that’s where I find my personal success. Hopefully I can set the boys up nicely for the final.

"We’ve got Ben Swift, who is a Yorkshire lad and has been super motivated for this all year. He’s going really well and Adam Yates and Tao Geoghegan Hart are in fine form so we’ve got three really good guys to be there in the crunch and then myself, Ian Stannard and Owain Doull we can help them until three or four laps to go and set them up to try and get stuck in.

"Morale is really good in the team, we all know each other really well and five of us ride for Ineos. Me, Stannard and Swifty started racing together when we were 12. With no race radios, that’ll be a good advantage to us."

Geraint Thomas is currently near the back. It look like because he's trying to take his overshoes, but maybe he was checking the rugby score as well.

Dutch wonderkid Mathieu van der Poel, one of the favourites for victory here, has suffered a puncture.

Quick change back at the Dutch team car and he's on his way again.

If you didn't see it, Van der Poel came from nowhere to win a thrilling Amstel Gold Race back in the spring.

I wonder if we'll see Geraint Thomas dropping back to the British team car soon to get an update on the Wales v Australia score in the Rugby World Cup.

No race radios in the world championships so they can't let him know this way.

It's very tight over in Japan right now...

Philippe Gilbert has spent a long time off the back but is finally rejoining the main peloton now.

The leading group of 11, containing Vuelta champion Primoz Roglic, Giro champion Richard Carapaz and former Vuelta and Giro champion Nairo Quintana, lead by 2:29 over the peloton.

Chris Boardman
Olympic cycling champion

Ben Swift is a bit of an outsider. His form is coming on nicely since he returned from a bad crash and he won the national road race title in June, but it is fair to say he is up against it.

But nobody will be expecting him to do anything.

They won't be expecting Britain to control the race and Ben can utilise other riders who might try to keep everyone together, but it is going to be tough for him to be in touch when he gets to Harrogate to start the circuit.

Owain Doull, Tao Geoghegan Hart, Ian Stannard, Ben Swift, Geraint Thomas and Adam Yates are riding for GB today.

Thomas has made it clear he's riding in a support role here and it sounds like the team are all in for Swift on his home roads.

The team know each other very well, especially with five of them beside Yates all riding for Team Ineos.

What will Yates look to do today? He had a very disappointing Tour de France but has pedigree in one-day races, having won the 2015 Clasica de San Sebastian.

Image source, PA Media

Rachel Langdon: Loving this aggressive racing from big names early on. Nice to be home watching worlds having a proper cuppa. About to whack on the wellies and head out to watch.

The leading group of 11 riders, containing Primoz Roglic, Nairo Quintana and Richard Carapaz, now have a lead of two minutes.

That leading group now have a gap of 1:15 over the peloton.

Australia are on the front of the bunch, limiting the advantage of the breakaway in service of Michael Matthews.

There are 11 riders in the front group now: Nairo Quintana (Col), Jonas Koch (Ger), Jan Polanc (Slo), Primoz Roglic (Slo), Magnus Cort (Den), Maciej Bodnar (Pol), Silvan Dillier (Swi), Petr Vakoc (Cze), Hugo Houle (Can), Richard Carapaz (Ecu), Alex Howes (US).

Richard Carapaz and Jonas Koch have sat up briefly, allowing the Roglic-Quintana group to come across.

They will slot in and form a bigger leading breakaway group.

Britain's Adam Yates is often happy to drift around at the back of the pack but is back in the convoy at the moment.

He must have had to stop and is just pacing himself back on now.

And former Giro and Vuelta champion Nairo Quintana is attacking alongside Primoz Roglic.

Remarkable. Huge names trying to get in the breakaway.

Primoz Roglic is now leading a chasing group trying to bridge across from the peloton to the Richard Carapaz group.

That means we have two of this year's Grand Tour winners on the attack early on in the world championships, something you never see.

Giro d'Italia champion Richard Carapaz of Ecuador is on the attack with Slovenia's Jan Polanc and Germany's Jonah Koch.

They have a small lead of 10 seconds or so over the peloton.

The front of the peloton has got across to the Jan Polanc leading group.

But the pace is stringing it out and the bunch looks to have split in two.

Philippe Gilbert is still off the back following his wheel change.

Team Ineos' Gianni Moscon has made it across to the leading group alongside Josef Cerny of the Czech Republic.

It looks like the peloton are closing on the break anyway though.