Tony Martin won another grand tour time trial when he emerged as the strongest in stage 10 of the Vuelta a Espana. The German regarded the stage as an important test for the World Championships and is now confident that he can take a fourth straight title.

Omega Pharma - Quick-Step Cycling Team had a beautiful day in Borja, the arrival location of the 36.7km La Vuelta a España Stage 10 ITT on Tuesday.

Tony Martin made the most out of the last kilometers of the time trial, winning with a time of 47 minutes and two seconds (46.818 km/h) despite not having the fastest two intermediate checkpoints. Meanwhile, OPQS leader Rigoberto Uran moved himself into 3rd in the GC by a blazing fast time trial performance. He finished 2nd in the stage, just 15" down on his German teammate. Fabian Cancellara (Trek Factory Racing) was 3rd, 18" down on Martin.

La Vuelta race leader Nairo Quintana (Movistar) suffered a crash, and lost time as a result. Alberto Contador now wears the red jersey.

Martin's victory is the 60th overall for OPQS in three disciplines in 2014. OPQS has now won more than 60 overall races for three straight years. OPQS has also won at least one stage of every grand tour this season, and one stage of every grand tour for the last seven years.

"It was one of the hardest time trials this year," Martin said. "The mountain was quite hard, it was hard to find a rhythm and still keep some energy for the second part with the descent and the flat sections. It was also technical with a lot of corners. For sure it was a challenge. I also had some issues with heat at the end.

“A success in a time trial is never normal. It was one of the hardest time trials this year. It was hilly and technical with a lot of corners and bumpy roads so you had to concentrate the whole race. It was not 100% for me. 

"I wasn't so sure about the win. But I'm super happy I did it, as this is a race that does not suit me perfectly and there are plenty of strong time trialists here at La Vuelta. I made up some time on the second part of the parcours. We made some good analysis with the team before the race so I was well prepared. I also never had any problems in the corners thanks to the performance of my Specialized Shiv.

"I was really not sure about the win. But I’m really happy now to see that my condition is right in the direction of the world championship. It’s a good day for me and for the team with Uran moving up on GC. It was complicated not to over pace in the first climb and save the power for the second part of the race.  On profile it looks like it always goes down but there were some strong headwind. 

"It was unclear if it was a race for time trial specialists or climbers. I got some time back over Cancellara in the descent. The gap between us is not that big at the end.

"I also see that my condition is good and I think this gives me huge morale in anticipation of Worlds. I have shown I'm heading in the right direction. 

"I wanted to win for the team also. I am thrilled with the fact that we have two OPQS guys on the top two steps of the podium, and even Pieter Serry was 11th. Now we have a victory at La Vuelta and we can look to the next days with Rigoberto Uran on the virtual GC podium. Team spirit is super high.

"Now I know that I still have to work a little bit. I think I can still make things better. It was a good test for me today. I wanted to win for the team as we didn’t have a victory at the Vuelta so far. I’m happy with my season so far. Now I only have to crown it all with a fourth straight victory at the world championship. I’m confident I can win it again.