Riders preparing for another slippery Criterium on Sturt Street

And if the predicted rain does arrive late in the afternoon, it will mean the elite riders will need as much help as they can get from their teams in order to stay upright and make their way to the finish line.

Cycling Australia's General manager of Sport Kipp Kaufmann said the conditions, if they are to turn nasty, would favour the riders who have raced Ballarat in the past.

"You'll see some of the track riders come to the fore and also look out for some of those who have been to Ballarat a few times," Kauffman said.

"The lower corner, getting around that, will be the key."

Kauffman said the 2016 national junior road champion and last year's criterium runner-up Kaden Groves was racing well and would be among the favourites for the elite men's event.

"Groves is in team BikeExchange and there's no doubt the team will be looking after him, he's a super sprinter on the world stage," he said.

"Brenton Jones won a couple of years ago, so he knows his way away the track.

"Then there's Brendan Johnstone from Canberra, who has been racing great in the national road series."

Nick White and brother Liam will lead the local contingent. Nick is racing is strong form, with Liam on the comeback trail after a major crash in December.

Kaufmann said in the women's field, if there was ever an event that did not suit rising star Sarah Gigante, this was it.

"Anyone can pull this out in the women's event, there are a lot of strong riders, I think this one is wide open," he said.

Kauffman said he leaned towards the likes of Matilda Raynolds, Peta Mullins, a recent stage winner at the Santos Tour event and Ruby Roseman-Gannon as the leading contenders for the women's race if anyone was to upset Gigante.

The elite and under 23s women's race is scheduled to start at 5pm with the elite men hitting the track at 6.30pm.