Tony Martin, World Time Trial Champion racing for the German Olympic Team, earned a silver medal in the 44km men's time trial event on Wednesday with a time of 51:21:54.
Bradley Wiggins, racing for Great Britain, earned gold with a time of 50:39:54, and teammate Chris Froome won the bronze with a time of 51:47:87.
Martin was fastest through the first time check, 5" faster than Wiggins and 9" faster than USA rider Taylor Phinney. It was a battle between Martin and Wiggins for the remainder of the time trial, with Wiggins picking up the pace throughout the course to finish in a time less than 51 minutes.
Martin raced the time trial still recovering from a fractured left scaphoid, which he suffered during an early stage of the Tour de France. He was forced to withdraw from the race in order to focus on healing, and training, for the Olympic time trial.
Bert Grabsch, also racing for the German Olympic Team, finished 8th (+2'38"), while Sylvain Chavanel, representing the French Olympic Team, was 29th (+5'28") after suffering a mechanical.
"I'm very happy about the race!" Martin said. "I did my maximum — I fought as much as I can. I started really fast, but then I lost a few seconds in the second and third part of the course. In any case, the best rider won today. He's not a surprise. He dominated all the time trials this year. Congratulations to him. Concerning me, I have to say that after all the bad luck I had during the season, this is a great result. The fracture was not a factor today, but it influenced all of my approach to the race. But today I'm happy. I'm on the podium of the Olympics with a great result. I worked hard to reach this goal."
