HTC-Columbia rider Tony Martin has powered to victory in the final time trial of the Tour de Suisse on Sunday, saying after wards he was surprised and pleased to have taken the 26.9-kilometer race against the clock in Liestal. Martin finished 17 seconds ahead of Swiss rider Fabian Cancellara, with American David Zabriskie in third.

“I wasn’t really expecting this,” Martin said after wards. “I’ve not been feeling so good in the last two or three days. It’s been very cold and rainy here in Switzerland and I didn’t think I had much of a chance today. But I was very motivated, I really wanted to put up a good fight for it, and I think the second half of the stage was where I gained most time on my rivals.”

Already the winner of the Tour of California’s time trial stage this year, Martin said that the Suisse course was very similar. “It was more or less the same, not too many corners and big roads. You didn’t have to brake or accelerate too hard, and you could keep a steady pace. That suited me. I lost a little bit of time on the first half of the course, up to the summit of the climb, but saving some energy was the perfect tactic because then I could go full gas in the second half.”

After leading the Tour de Suisse during the first half of the race and then taking the final stage, Martin says he is feeling optimistic about his chances in the German National Time Trial Championships next week. “I’ve heard it’s an undulating course, a bit like today’s time trial. I’ll be focusing on that really hard from now on.”