Sir Bradley Wiggins admitted his delight after claiming his first world time trial title and completing a historic treble at his last Road World Championships.
The 34-year old added a rainbow jersey on the road to his Olympic and British titles after beating three-time champion Tony Martin by 26.23 seconds over a hilly 47.1km course in Ponferrada.
Wiggins finished second behind Martin in both 2011 and 2013 but used his superior climbing ability to extend his lead over the final 12km, finishing in a time of 56 minutes 25.52 seconds.
The 2012 Tour de France champion reiterated his intention not to compete at future road championships as he turns his attentions to the track for the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.
And Wiggins was proud to have ended a difficult season on a high, becoming the first British rider since Chris Boardman in 1994 to win world time trial gold.
“I knew I had the legs coming into it and once I saw the course I realised that if I was ever going to beat Tony again it was on a course like this,” he said.
“It has been an up and down year with not riding the Tour but I want to dedicate this to my family for putting up with me when I was at home during July.
“This is my last world time trial championship and I’ve finished with a gold medal.
“I went through the routine I’ve been through so many times – when I know the form and condition are there I’m quite relaxed and know what I have to do on the bike.
“I knew the difference would be made on that final loop – those climbs are very tough – so I paced it perfectly and still had gas in the final.
“Even on the last descent I heard I was ten seconds up but I was just pushing all the way and didn’t want to take any risks on missing out on the win.
“To add the world title to the British and Olympic titles, along with the pursuit world titles - I’ve got the set.”
© Sportsbeat 2014