Hello and welcome to live coverage of the World Championships men's road race from Doha. A 257.5km ride that starts with an out-and-back loop up the coast and into the desert, followed by seven laps of a 15.2km circuit around the Pearl, Qatar.

Bike change for Elia Viviani in the feedzone - and it's a superb change, save for a near collision with a soigneur dishing out water. The gap is 1:33 now for the leaders.

Six laps to go: the Belgians lead the leading group over the line - and it looks like that the winner today will come from this group of riders. It's Oliver Naesen who leads the race over the line - but the second group seems to have sat up, with the gap now north of 1:35.

Bit of a flashpoint in the chasing group when Jens Debusschere and John Degenkolb collide on a bend. The Belgian is not interested in helping out the chase - what with so many team-mates in the leading group - while the German is trying to burying himself in a bid to slash the gap and help out his team-mates Kittel and Greipel.

The gruppetto has been wound up and called off the track after passing through the finish line. Included in that swathe of riders are Britain's Luke Rowe, Ian Stannard, Geraint Thomas and Steve Cummings. The Brits still have Cavendish and Blythe in the lead group and Swift and Thwaites in the chasing group. Tom Dumoulin is there too, alongside a cluster of his Dutch team-mates. He looks very unimpressed.

Michael Scar of Switzerland is the latest rider to try and break clear of the chasing group, who now trail the leaders by 1:25. They are not slashing the gap at all, which will be worrying for the likes of Greipel, Kittel, Bouhanni and Groenewegen. The fact that lone chasers can ping off the front shows that they're really struggling. Belgium have been so, so impressive. Any of them could go on and win it at this rate.

We're seeing the first riders roll home and withdraw. Caleb Ewan and Steele Von Hoff have called it a day - whether they have been forced to do so because of fear that they'll be lapped, or it's through their own choice, who knows. What we do know is that Ewan missed the crosswinds split, then killed himself trying to fight back before being definitely distanced.

Across the line go the main group - and Michal Kolar has some problems. He drops back and needs some attention on his derailleur from the neutral Shimano car while rolling along. Yes, on closer inspection it's a bit of plastic bag stuck in his mesh. Haller comes over 57 seconds down before the main pack crosses the line 1:10 down on the leaders.

Marco Haller has another dig off the front of the chasing group - and this time the Austrian opens a gap. Impressive stuff. They're two kilometres away from the finish line - which is where the first of seven laps will officially start.

Elia Viviani (Italy, 27, *) As usual it will be a lack of harmony within the Italian ranks that could prove their downfall, with Team Sky's Viviani one of a number of sprinters in the squad. But as Mario Cipollini said in such frank terms earlier in the week, Viviani, along with Giacomo Nizzolo and Sonny Colbrelli, are just "half sprinters – they're middleweights against heavyweights" who would be better off leading someone strong out, as opposed to being the main event themselves. Viviani may have denied Cavendish a gold medal in the omnium in Rio but there's little to suggest from his form on the road this season that he'll come anywhere near those rainbow stripes. [That said, both Viviani and Nizzolo are in this main pack...]

Poor Peter: Sagan misses two musettes - the first after dropping it, the second after taking it so forcefully that the handles rip off and it drops to the floor. That'll be a job now to do for his Slovakian team-mate Michal Kolar.

Ukraine's Sergiy Lagkuti, who was in that initial seven-man break, has now been dropped by the leading group. Belgium still drive the pace - and they have the numbers to do it, what with Boonen, Van Avermaet, Stuyven, Naesen, Keukeleire and Roelandts all there. The gap is 1:05.

There's unrest in the chasing group as Marco Haller of Austria ups the tempo and takes a Spanish rider with him. Haller could be a useful ally for Norway's Alexander Kristoff, his Katusha team-mate, should these groups come back together - what with the Austrian team being just him and Bernie Eisel.

Marcel Kittel (Germany, 28, ***) After his sabbatical in 2015, Kittel has experienced a stuttering season at Etixx. On the one hand, he's notched two wins on the Giro, one on the Tour and a cluster over the spring; but on the other hand, he's been sub-par in the big bunch affairs, and his staying power has looked like that of a rookie. With Greipel in the hot seat, Kittel will enter the race very much the wildcard – but one who could still play a big role alongside trade team-mate Tony Martin, the recently crowned time trial world champion.

The race is entering the outskirts of Doha after that long loop out into the desert and back. The tailwinds made it very hard for the trailing groups to chase and make any significant inroads. So we have a lead group of around 30 riders with a gap of 1:08 over the first chasing group, who will be soon caught by the main body of riders.

The third group - which is essentially the main peloton - is about 20 seconds behind the Kittel-Greipel-Bouhanni chasing group and so once together, these two could combine to reel in the leaders, who are still one minute ahead. So it could all come back together again before the seven circuits in Doha - but that's still far from guaranteed, and it will all take its toll on those 15.2km loops.

Denmark's Magnus Cort Nielsen appears to have been dropped by the main group. The youngster won two stages on the Vuelta and could have been a factor in the final sprint.

Andre Greipel (Germany, 34, ****) The Rostock Gorilla (described as "a colossus" this week by Mario Cipollini) is the bookmakers' favourite – although his odds of 5-1 suggest that even they aren't sure who will take the crown come Sunday. The dependable 34-year-old capped an otherwise disappointing Tour with victory in the final stage on the Champs Elysees, although Greipel has won just the once since – in the opening stage of the Tour of Britain. One of the fastest sprinters on paper, Greipel has more experience than many and isn't overly adverse to long races in the heat. But his German team has just six riders – putting them three down on their rivals before the race even rolls out of the Aspire quarter of Doha. If Greipel is to make good on his status as favourite he'll need team-mates Marcel Kittel and John Degenkolb to put aside their own personal ambitions and pull for him in what will no doubt be a hectic finale.

Bouhanni and Greipel exchange a few words on the front of the second group. They're not happy at having to lead the chase here. Demare, Bouhanni's rival and French team-mate, is in the third group - which is the largest on the road.

The main group now has 52 seconds over the chasing group, who have 1:30 over the next group on the road. Peter Sagan, the reigning champion, picks up two water bottles from a motorbike. Classy guy - they're not even for him, but his two team-mates.

Ireland's Sam Bennett, in the second group, appears to have a problem with his hand - perhaps he hurt it trying to pick up a bidon from one of the soigneurs on the side of the road. Indeed, there's a heated exchange between two riders in this group after one takes - and drops - a bottle apparently intended for the second, one of the Belgians.

BREAK CAUGHT: The six leaders are now clinging on for dear life to the back of the main pack having been swept up after the best part of 110km riding out ahead.