BERNE, Switzerland, June 21, 2009 (AFP) – Swiss time-trial Olympic champion Fabian Cancellara won the Tour of Switzerland on Sunday after winning the ninth and final stage of the race here, a 38.5 kilometers time-trial.

The 28-year-old beat Germany’s Tony Martin – winner of Saturday’s penultimate stage and second in the final stage – by 2minutes 2seconds in the overall standings while Roman Kreuziger of the Czech Republic was third 2min 24sec adrift.

It was Cancellara’s first major stage race win since the Tirreno-Adriatico on 2008.

“This is a fantastic day for me,” said Cancellara.

“I was feeling really nervous prior to the stage, but once I got going I settled into my rhythm and felt at home.

“I never expected to win this race but it is truly a great feeling and an encouraging result for the Tour de France.”

Long-time overall leader Tadej Valjavec of Slovenia knew his game was up early on as Cancellara, who was only four seconds behind him going into Sunday’s stage, and was soon behind the pace and finished 59th on the stage some 3 minutes and 49 seconds adrift.

Stage 9 Time Trial
1. Fabian Cancellara (SUI/SAX) 45min 59sec
2. Tony Martin (GER/THR) at 1min 27sec
3. Thomas Dekker (NED/SIL) 1:42.
4. Marcus Burghardt (GER/THR) 1:43.
5. Sylvain Chavanel (FRA/QST) 1:48.
6. Cameron Meyer (AUS/GRM) 1:50.
7. Roman Kreuziger (CZE/LIQ) 2:00.
8. Brian Vandborg (DEN/LIQ) 2:02.
9. Andreas Klöden (GER/AST) 2:09.
10. Thor Hushovd (NOR/CTT) 2:14.

Selected
16. Stuart O’Grady (AUS/SAX) 2:40.
23. George Hincapie (USA/THR) 2:58.
33. Oscar Freire (ESP/RAB) 3:08.
38. Christian Vande Velde (USA/GRM) 3:20.

Overall
1. Fabian Cancellara (SUI/SAX) 33hr 05min 51sec
2. Tony Martin (GER/THR) at 2min 02sec
3. Roman Kreuziger (CZE/LIQ) 2:24.
4. Andreas Klöden (GER/AST) 2:50.
5. Vladimir Karpets (RUS/KAT) 3:18.
6. Damiano Cunego (ITA/LAM) 3:23.
7. Tadej Valjavec (SLO/ALM) 3:45.
8. Rein Taaramae (EST/COF) 4:04.
9. Kim Kirchen (LUX/THR) 4:04.
10. Maxime Monfort (BEL/THR) 4:08.

Selected
14. George Hincapie (USA/THR) 6:08.
81. Christian Vande Velde (USA/GRM) 45:58.
115. Mark Cavendish (IDM/THR) 1hr 14min 36sec
117. Stuart O’Grady (AUS/SAX) 1hr 16min 05sec c