In the pouring rain, Olympic champion Fabian Cancellara carefully negotiated the flat, 30 km course. Thus, at 11 km, the Berne cyclist was four seconds behind David Millar and Alexander Vinokourov, who both achieved the same time.

But already 8 km later, Cancellara's latest triumph was becoming apparent.

He was already 19 seconds ahead of Millar, cycling towards an undisputed victory, although, when turning right, he had cycled an extra stretch of road to reduce the risk of a fall. Cancellara, who had already won the start of the Tour of Spain in Assen in The Netherlands, regained the overall lead 48 hours later.

As expected, the sprinter André Greipel was never anywhere near the lead and made only rank 67, which resulted in a clear unseating of the German. The triumph of Alinghi in Valencia and the Formula 1 track with the start and finish of the race, had been a big motivation, said Cancellara, when interviewed by Spanish television.

He added that the time trial had been made difficult by bad weather and the risk of falling.

Cancellara has sent out a clear message, particularly in view of the road World Championships in Mendrisio.

David Millar reached second place, 32 seconds behind the leader, while powerhouse Bert Grabsch had to settle for 3rd place, with a 36 second lag.

Source: si .