Sandpaper saddle injury adds to pain of Tony Martin's World Championships defeat

If finishing a disappointing seventh in the time trial at the World Championships wasn't bad enough for Tony Martin, the former champion also suffered the ignominy of having the grip tape on his saddle rip all the way through his skinsuit, rubbing against his bare skin by the end of the race.

Martin has used grip tape on the saddle of his Specialized Shiv TT bike, with the idea being that the extra grip will keep his backside firmly in place, stopping him from sliding forward in the saddle like many of his rivals.

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However in this instance it appears to have backfired, with the grip tape managing to rub against the lycra and padding of his custom-made BioRacer skinsuit so much that it made its way all the way through the fabric, and starting rubbing against Martin's buttocks instead.

Whether or not the pain from his saddle contributed to Martin's disappointing seventh place in yesterday's race, we wouldn't like to say, but it could well have hindered the three-time World Champion's improvement in form since crashing out of the Tour de France while wearing the yellow jersey in July.

The German won the Tour du Poitou Charentes last month, where he was also third in the time trial just four seconds down on Adriano Malori, and was one of the favourites going into the World Championships. However Martin was off the pace from the start, eventually finishing one minute 16 seconds behind race winner Vasil Kiryienka.