OPQS rider Tony Martin took the silver medal in the 47.1km UCI World ITT Championship in Ponferrada on Wednesday. The German rider finished 26.23" down on Bradley Wiggins of Great Britain. Martin was the previous champion, and won gold in the discipline for three consecutive years. He was also on the podium every year since 2009.
Tony was fastest at the first checkpoint by 4.14", but trailed Wiggins in the next two checkpoints. The parcours was partially the same as the TTT of Sunday, where Tony also participated and earned bronze with his teammates. However, there were also two climbs in the final kilometers that made a difference for most riders.
Young riders Petr Vakoc (Czech Republic) and Pieter Serry (Belgium) also placed 29th and 31st in the time trial event. For both riders it was their first UCI World ITT Championship, and Vakoc is in his first year as a professional.
"To be honest it's really hard to get beaten on a day like this," Martin said. "I was motivated, I had the goal to get the gold medal again today. Nothing else counted for me. Even the silver medal doesn't make it better for me to be honest, but I know it is still a good result. I'm really disappointed, but that's cycling, that's sport. I'm not a machine. I know that almost everyone expected me to win, but I always said a few riders, especially Bradley, always have a big chance. I already felt tired in the team time trial. For sure it wasn't best for the morale and preparation for today. I was a little tired also today and I think that was the biggest factor. I couldn't battle Bradley in the final of this race with my condition. Now I have to analyze and do better next year. Congratulations to Bradley as he is a great talent in this discipline and deserves to be world champion."
