Adriano Malori (Movistar) lived up to his status as the major favourite when he took a dominant victory in today's Italian time trial championships. On the 40.9km course in Male, he beat Dario Cataldo (Sky) by 1.09 while Alan Marangoni (Cannondale) was a very distant third at 2.40.

This year Adriano Malori has taken a further step up in the time trialling hierarchy and now belongs to the select elite that is able to challenge world champion Tony Martin in the discipline. Having shown great form in the recent Route du Sud, the Movistar rider went into today's Italian championships as the big favourite and he left no one doubting his superiority.

On the 40.9km course in Male, he was in a class of his own and covered the distance in a time of 51.26 to put no loss than 1.09 into Dario Cataldo who was tipped as his biggest rival. No one was able to get even close to the pair as Alan Marangoni was 2.40 behind in third.

Malori was fastest at all checks and kept his speed all the way to the finish to take his second win in the event after having taken a maiden title in 2011. As he is not in contention for a spot on the Movistar roster for the Tour de France, Malori will now take a short rest before starting his preparations for the Giro d'Italia.

Result:

1. Adriano Malori 51.26

2. Dario Cataldo +1.09

3. Alan Marangoni +2.40

4. Stefano Pirazzi +2.53

5. Manuele Boaro

6. Valerio Conti +3.01

7. Nicola Dal Santo +3.08

8. Alfredo Balloni +3.27

9. Tiziano Dall'Antonia +4.08

10. Mattia Cattaneo +4.11