Wrong-way Martin repeats as German time trial champion

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Tony Martin won his fourth German national time trial championships in grand style, overcoming a loss of time through misdirection to take the win by nearly a minute.

The Omega Pharma-QuickStep rider, who is also three-time world champion, covered the 44.4 km in 56:22, beating Niklas Arndt (Giant-Shimano) by 57 seconds. The surprise third-placed rider was 43 year-old elite rider Lars Teutenberg, with a time of 57:36.

The German elite men covered three laps of a 14.8km circuit course in Baunatal/Edermünde. They took to the road in the evening, with cool temperatures and a light rain adding to the difficulty of failing light. The light rain turned heavier, so much so in fact that the metal start ramp was removed before the final 10 riders, as the chance of crashing on the slick ramp was too great.

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Defending champion Tony Martin was the last to leave, and soon immediately ran into difficulties – not weather-related, but of his own making. After finishing the first lap, he missed the turn to continue on to the next lap. Only when he came to a roundabout did he become aware of his mistake and hurried back on course, but it cost him a good minute. In fact he was only third or fourth at the first intermediate time check at the end of that first lap, before his mishap.

That apparently only motivated him to further great deeds, as he put in the best time at the end of the second lap, by a full 18 seconds. Nikias Arndt (Giant-Shimano), whose time he beat, put in a best finishing time of 57:19, the first man to break the 58 minute mark. Martin continued at his torrid pace and in the end beat Arndt by 57 seconds, to take his fourth national title and the third consecutive one.

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