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Martin takes confidence from Tour of Belgium time trial victory

By Cycling News

published 27 May 2012

Omega Pharma-QuickStep rider now looking to Tour de France and 2012 London Olympics

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Time trial world champion Tony Martin (Omega Pharma-QuickStep)(Image credit: Bettini Photo)

Time trial world champion Tony Martin (Omega Pharma-QuickStep) en route to a third place finish.(Image credit: Susanne Goetze / cyclinginside.com)

The elite men's time trial podium: Bradley Wiggins, Tony Martin and Fabian Cancellara(Image credit: Bettini Photo)

Tony Martin flew to victory in the Tour of Belgium time trial to also take the overall lead in the race. It was the first win for the Omega Pharma-QuickStep rider this season, and came less than seven weeks after he was hit by a car whilst training.

Martin pleased on his return to action

Tony Martin pleased with London 2012 Olympics time trial course

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His performance left him with high hopes for the upcoming 2012 London Olympics. “This victory means a lot to me and not just because of my bad crash. No, I am now exactly where I want to be for the Olympics. The win gave me a lot of motivation for the further preparations.,” he wrote on his personal website.

“And of course I want to also win the Tour of Belgium. The overall victory in my team's homeland tour is our declared goal. So the win will mean a lot.”

Martin is also looking towards the Tour de France. “Even when I haven't yet reached by top form, I am sure that there is still enough time until the start of the Tour de France.”

Not that the time trial went perfectly. “At the beginning I didn't have good legs. It was hard and windy and I wasn't doing one of my best time trials. But it was important to me to break the ice,” he said, according to Radsport-News.com.