Going into today's first time trial of the Tour de Suisse, Tony Martin had made it clear that he didn't expect to win as the hilly course didn't suit him too well. However, he timed his effort on the short course perfectly and was justly rewarded by the first leader's jersey after what he described as the hardest prologue he had ever done.

Omega Pharma - Quick-Step Cycling Team rider Tony Martin won the 9.4km prologue of Tour de Suisse on Saturday, with a time of 13'48" on a parcours that included an uphill on the second half that descended into the finish.

The three-time UCI World Time Trial Champion was one of the earlier riders on course, but one-by-one riders were unable to match his time. Tom Dumoulin (Giant-Shimano) was 2nd, and Rohan Dennis (Garmin-Sharp) was 3rd.

Martin's victory is the 38th for OPQS, in three disciplines, in 2014. There is a 25km ITT that will be another chance for the German rider.

"I think I had a good strategy because I knew if I went really 100 percent in the flat part, I wouldn't have enough energy for the mountain," Martin said. "I had a split time in the first intermediate that was a second down to Rohan Dennis. I knew I had the power at that point, having saved some energy.

"So I knew I had to go 100 percent, but also be ready for the descent. If you go really full gas to the top you can't concentrate on the technical parts of the downhill. So I was always focused on the descent, not going over the edge at the top of the climb.

"I was also able to sprint out of the corners on the descent. I had a really good feeling the whole race, but I think I made the difference on the descent, and my Specialized Shiv gave me the confidence to be aggressive there.

"It was the hardest, most technical prologue of my career. You cannot underestimate that kind of a parcours even if the distance is shorter.

"I have three victories now at Tour de Suisse. It's a race that I like a lot, it's well organized and I try to do well here in moments that suit me. I will now focus on trying to do well on the Stage 7 individual time trial. I will do my best for a good result there, and we will see what can happen in the mountains."