Omega Pharma – Quick-Step Cycling Team rider Tony Martin won his third straight UCI World TT Championship on Wednesday, finishing with a time of 1:05:36.65 on the 57.2km course.
The German powerhouse trailed Fabian Cancellara (Switzerland) by .36″ in the first checkpoint, but easily set the fastest times at the second and third checkpoints. His time gap only increased, kilometer-by-kilometer. Martin won by 46.09 seconds, averaging 52.957 kilometers per hour. Bradley Wiggins (Great Britain) was 2nd, and Cancellara 3rd (+48.34″).
This is the second year OPQS ruled the time trial discipline at worlds, winning the gold in both the TTT and ITT events. Martin was a key member of both teams. It is also the 58th win (56th road) for OPQS in 2013.
“I think it was a clear victory,” Martin said. “It was really nice, I didn’t have to really take risks in the last corners. The last five kilometers were like a celebration for me because I knew I had an advantage of about 40 seconds. I didn’t expect the gap to be that big at all. I expected a battle on the cobbles. I was a little bit afraid of it, I know Cancellara is a specialist on the small corners with the cobbles, so I knew I needed some gaps. I think the gap was high enough, and so I didn’t have to go 100 percent and it was good to not take risks. I knew without a puncture or crash I should win. It was just a really nice final for me. I think it was really a perfect ride, from point A to B. I think it was more or less the same as my first worlds victory in Copenhagen. I think I really needed this because when you almost win everything in time trials that you could in the past, you need some pressure so you can go to the limit. This was the right pressure for me going into this race. I could work with it. I think this is really the highlight of the season. To win this highlight is really special, even more special than last year. It gives me a lot of morale also for the next season.”
Ron Callahan is the chief cook and bottlewasher at Bike World News, doing everything from website design to bike reviews.