Going into today's German TT championships, world champion Tony Martin was the overwhelming favourite and seemed to be virtually unbeatable. Having gone off course after the first lap, however, he made a big mistake that could have made the race a lot more exciting than expected.

Omega Pharma - Quick-Step Cycling Team rider Tony Martin took home his third straight gold medal at the 44.4km German TT Championship on Friday, which was also the fourth national TT championship victory in his career.

The three-time UCI World TT Champion won by 57 seconds with a finishing time of 56 minutes and 22 seconds (47.262 km/h).

Nikias Arndt earned silver, and Lars Teutenberg bronze (+1'14"). Martin's victory was the 44th overall for OPQS in 2014.

"I'm happy I won after a thrilling race," Martin said. "The parcours was a circuit with three laps, and the last lap was the only time we had to take a left to pass the area of the finish line. My radio wasn't working so well at the time I was on course and the visibility was also not so good due to the rain and darkness. So I was focused on the split time. I didn't realize I had to go right on the first lap and not pass the finish line.

"I heard the speaker shouting and saw the fences at the end of the road and thought 'oh, I probably did a mistake.' So, I turned around and I lost about 200 or 300 meters to come back. But I immediately found my tempo again and after the second lap I already had the best time again.

"It wasn't an easy race. The weather conditions weren't so good, which made the roads slippery. But, I got the result I was hoping for and I am happy with my fourth German TT gold medal. For me, this brings me a bit of good luck before the Tour de France. My condition is there and I'm excited that the Tour is coming."