Worlds Update: Tony Martin delivers more German power in elite men’s time trial

In the first two days of the 2011 World Road Cycling Championships in Copenhagen, Denmark, it was Australia that was ruling supreme in the time trials. Aussies Luke Durbridge and Jessica Allen wore rainbow stripes after the Under-23 men’s TT and Junior women’s TT respectively. But now, after the elites have raced against the clock, it’s Germany that has risen to the top. Yesterday, Judith Arndt won her first elite women’s World Championship and today it was Tony Martin taking his first gold.

For most of the day, Astana’s Alexandr Dyachenko (Kazakhstan) sat in the hot seat as his time of 57:03.61 for 46.4 kilometres stood as the goal to beat. Canada’s Svein Tuft, silver winner in the time trial discipline in 2008, had a fine run to sit third until the Time Monsters such as Bert Grabsch, Martin, David Millar and Bradley Wiggins of Great Britain and Switzerland’s Fabian Cancellara started to come in.

The drama and tension at the end of the race was high as Wiggins waited what must have seemed an eternity for Martin. The German, currently with HTC but joining Quick Step next season, celebrates his first elite men’s time trial gold after winning the Under-23 event in 2006 and taking bronze in the elite race over the past two years. His time was 53:43.85, nearly 1:16 faster than Wiggins. Cancellara finished with the bronze.

Svein Tuft was 13th.