Sir Bradley Wiggins won the World Championship time trial on Wednesday, beating defending champion Tony Martin (German) by a stunning margin of 26 seconds.
Wiggins posted a perfectly-paced time of 56 minutes and 25.52 seconds for the tough 47.1-kilometre course around Ponferrada, Spain – an average speed of 50.084 km/h.
Martin took the silver medal after seemingly fading on the final, hilly section of the route. Dutchman Tom Dumoulin completed the podium with bronze, 40 seconds adrift of Wiggins.
Portuguese rider Nelson Oliveria had an extended wait in the hot seat after posting an early fast time, and eventually finished seventh.
Wiggins’ British team-mate Alex Dowsett admitted that he hadn’t felt great on the day, perhaps still feeling the effects of his hard efforts in the Tour of Britain, and placed 20th.
Wiggins adds the world TT title to an already bulging palmares that includes the 2012 Tour de France win and his 2012 Olympic time trial title and numerous track medals. It also puts a final flourish on a year full of highs and lows, which saw Wiggins miss out in Sky’s selection for the Tour de France despite winning the Tour of California.
Wiggins has said that he will now target Paris-Roubaix and the Hour record next year.
