Fabian Cancellara reaffirmed that he is the fastest man against the clock by winning a record fourth time trial crown at the world road race cycling championships. The powerful cyclist nicknamed “Spartacus” was able to hold up four fingers to the crowd as he crossed the finish line.

Cancellara clocked a winning time of 58 minutes 09 seconds for the tough 45.8km course. British rider David Millar was second in 59:11 and German Tony Martin took third in 59:21.

Cancellara, who had shared a record three victories in the discipline at the championships with Australian Michael Rogers, becomes the first ever rider to win the title four times.

“I’m really happy to have done this a fourth time. It’s amazing. It’s maybe the hardest of all my wins because leading up to this I wasn’t sure of my condition,” said Cancellara, who left the Tour of Spain early two weeks ago after expressing concerns over his form.

“The other guys went really well but I just tried to do what I can. I think today I employed the perfect tactic.”

Canacellara was slightly down on Millar in the early splits and despite a scare when he almost crashed into the barriers on a tight S-bend, the 29-year-old Swiss just kept hammering away at the pedals to increase his lead over the final half of the 22.9km circuit.

“I didn’t touch it (barriers), that’s the last thing I wanted to do,” he added.

“But you know, you have to take those risks because every second counts.”

Martin had started the race as Cancellara’s biggest challenger however the 25-year-old’s victory bid suffered a blow when he punctured his front wheel and lost precious time waiting for a change and getting back into his rhythm.

Results

1. Fabian Cancellara (SUI) 58min 09sec
2. David Millar (GBR) at 1min 02sec
3. Tony Martin (GER) 1:12
4. Richie Porte (AUS) 1:19
5. Michael Rogers (AUS) 2:24
6. Koos Moerenhout (NED) 2:40
7. Luis Leon Sanchez (ESP) 2:44
8. David Zabriskie (USA) 2:51
9. Maciej Bodnar (POL) 3:00
10. Gustav Larsson (SWE) 3:01
11. Bert Grabsch (GER) 3:06
12. Ignatas Konovalovas (LTU) 3:07
13. Vladimir Gusev (RUS) 3:27
14. Carlos Oyarzun (CHI) 3:30
15. Nicolas Vogondy (FRA) 3:38
16. Andriy Grivko (UKR) 3:40
17. Ivan Gutierrez (ESP) 3:42
18. Alex Rasmussen (DEN) 3:45
19. Sylvain Chavanel (FRA) 3:59
20. Janez Brajkovic (SLO) 4:03