Spain and France have announced their teams for the Cycling World Championships in Rwanda (21-28 September), fielding some of the biggest names in international cycling.

For Spain, Vuelta stage winners Juan Ayuso and Marc Soler will lead an eight-rider field in the men's elite road race, where they will take on their UAE Team Emirates teammate Tadej Pogačar on the climber-friendly route in Kigali.

The Spanish team will also include Abel Balderstone, Iván Romeo, Carlos Verona, Carlos Canal, Roger Adrià, and Raúl García Pierna. García Pierna and Romeo, the reigning Under-23 World Time Trial champion, will also compete in Sunday's time trial.

Ayuso, who has never participated in an Elite World Championship, is immediately among the favorites alongside Pogačar and Remco Evenepoel, given his recent successes at the Vuelta and the characteristics of the Rwandan route.

On the French side, GP Québec winner Julian Alaphilippe and Tour de France Women's winner Pauline Ferrand-Prévot will spearhead their respective teams. Alaphilippe, world champion in 2020 and 2021, will be supported by the young phenomenon Paul Seixas, fresh from winning the Tour de l'Avenir.