I suppose I will make a prediction for the World Championships. If the course is raced hard like the Italians say they will, I think the hills will take out the sprinters. Boonen, Eisel, McEwen, etc will be cooked. Zabel may be able to survive. I look at this course as being like a hillier Spring Classic where the sprinters get weeded out. The long descent into town means a decisive move will need to be made on one of the hills. The winner will have to be aggressive climber with an explosive move good enough to lose his competitors.

My gut reaction is to go with Valverde. Certainly a good climber with a sprint if it is needed at the end.
Top 3 in no particular order: Valverde, Vinokourov, Bettini.
Others to watch: Schleck, Paulinho, Kohl, Pozzatto, DiLuca, Schumacher, Sanchez, Devolder, Gilbert
Longshot

On the American side I think Horner and Vandevelde could turn in decent performances.