Germany's Tony Martin is the World Time Trial champion for the third successive time after taking victory in the Elite Mens Individual Time Trial at the World Championships in Florence.
The 73 riders started on the 56.8km course from Montecatini Terme to Florence in a trial that was billed as a battle between current champion Tony Martin, Fabian Cancellera of Radio Shack and Sir Bradley Wiggins of Team Sky.
Ireland's Nicholas Roche went down the ramp at 14.21 local time before Tiego Machado of Portugal set the time to be when he was first home in 1.11.05.38 after finishing a course that had the first intermediate time checkpoint at Serravalle Pistoiese after 7.3kms and then after taking in Pistoia and Quarrata, there was a run in to Florence City centre via Cascine park, through the City centre and past the Duomo and to the finish line close to Fiorentina's football ground.
Patrick Gretsch, Bulgaria's Mihaylov, Ignatas Konovalovas (Lithuania) Serge Tvetcov of Moldova and Aleksejs Saramotins (Latvia) all came home quicker than Machado, with Saramotin's time of 1.09.32 becoming the new time to beat.
British Time Trial Champion Alex Dowsett who admitted to feeling a lot better after being ill before the Tour of Britain, went off at 14.52 local time and at 15.09, Sir Bradley Wiggins set off with Nelson Oliveira of Portugal's time of 1:08:51, now the time to beat.
Cancellera representing Switzerland and Tony Martin on a Specialized S-Works Shiv TT bike, set off.
Nicholas Roche finished in 1.08.50.00 but Team Sky's Kanstantsin Siutsou of Belarus came home in 1:08:36.19.
Back down the road, Wiggins came through the 24km checkpoint seconf to Siutsou but Cancellera was 24 seconds quicker and Tony Martin a further thirteen seconds even quicker.
Tony Martin was the fastest at the 42km mark, ahead of Cancellera and Bradley Wiggins who was eating time into the Swiss rider.
Wiggins, continued to make up time in a brilliant ride and finished in 1.06.22 to go into the lead and then came in Cancellera two seconds down but then Martin flew home in 1.05.36.66 to take the victory for the third successive year with Wiggins, taking a very valiant silver medal for a job well done.
Result:
1. Tony Martin (Germany) 1:05:35.65
2. Bradley Wiggins (Great Britain) 1:06:22.74
3. Fabian Cancellara (Switzerland) 1:06:24.99
4. Vasil Kiryienka (Belarus) 1:07:02.66
5. Taylor Phinney (United States of America) 1:07:44.65
6. Rasmus Christian Quaade (Denmark) 1:08:12.98
7. Marco Pinotti (Italy) 1:08:18.57
8. Adriano Malori (Italy) 1:08:27.72
9. Gustav Larsson (Sweden) 1:08:35.12
10. Kanstantsin Siutsou (Belarus) 1:08:36.19
Nicholas Roche was 13th with Alex Dowsett 41st