Tony Martin has equalled Fabian Cancellara's record of four UCI World Championships time trial titles by dominating the 40km course in Doha to win by 45 seconds over reigning champion Vasil Kiryienka.
The German powerhouse led through both of the intermediate timing checks and bettered Jonathan Castroviejo's leading time just seconds after the Spanish rider took to top spot.
Kiryienka, who took the rainbow stripes in Richmond last year, rode a solid race but could only just get within 45 seconds, with Castroviejo taking third place, over a minute down on Martin.
Irish youngster Ryan Mullen sat in the leader's hotseat for much of the day having set a barnstorming time early on in the event, only being knocked off the top step by Poland's Maciej Bodnar in the final tranche of riders.
Martin's winning time knocked Mullen off the podium altogether and the German watched as pre-race rivals Rohan Dennis and Tom Dumoulin could only manage sixth and 11th respectively.
With the win, Martin also matches Cancellara's record of seven World Championships time trial medals, with a silver and two bronzes to his name from previous years.
World Championships men's individual time trial, Lusail - Pearl Qatar (40km)
1. Tony Martin (Germany) in 44-42.99
2. Vasil Kiryienka (Belarus) at 45 secs
3. Jonathan Castroviejo (Spain) at 1-11
4. Maciej Bodnar (Poland) at 1-17
5. Ryan Mullen (Ireland) at 1-22
6. Rohan Dennis (Australia) at 1-27
7. Yves Lampaert (Belgium) at 1-45
8. Jos van Emden (Netherlands) at 1-45
9. Reto Hollenstein (Switzerland) at 1-52
10. Bob Jungels (Luxembourg) at 1-57
Other
12. Alex Dowsett (Great Britain) at 2-11
25. Steve Cummings (Great Britain) at 2-49
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