Everything in its right place. Tony Martin (Germany) regained the rainbow jersey of world time trial champion in Doha on Wednesday after two years of tweaking his position on the bike eventually saw him simply tear up his plans and start all over again.
The nadir for Martin came at the Olympic Games in August. After taking silver in London four years ago, he made the race the centrepiece of his 2016 campaign, but could only manage a disappointing 12th place in Rio.
Somewhere during the period of soul-searching that followed that forlorn Brazilian expedition, Martin opted to return to some old habits. His original time trial position may not have been the most aerodynamic, but it was fit for purpose. It had, after all, carried him to three successive world time trial titles, between 2011 and 2013.
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Victory in the time trial stage of the Tour of Britain – only his second win against the watch all season – was an affirmation that Martin's decision was a sage one, and he travelled to the UCI Road World Championships with cautious optimism. Those unsteady hopes began to take firmer roots when Martin led Etixx-QuickStep to victory in Sunday's team time trial.
"I have to say I've had a pretty tough almost three years now because I couldn't show my real level in the TT," Martin said on Wednesday. "I was almost on the point where I had to ask myself if I was still a big time triallist or if I was on the way down.
"But going back to the old position on the time trial bike gave me a lot of confidence, I have to say. I felt like another rider, in fact, and the people around me said that I was starting to look like another rider compared to the last months. I was really relaxed before the start. I was just looking forward to the race today."
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