Martin Toft Madsen (Almeborg-Bornholm) delivered a majaor surprise by winning the Danish time trial championships. The continental rider was 12 seconds faster than Michael Valgreen (Tinkoff) while Kasper Asgreen (Trefor) was 29 seconds behind in third.

Going into the Danish time trial championships, most had their eyes on professional riders like reigning champion Christopher Juul (Orica-GreenEDGE), Michael Valgren (Tinkoff), Rasmus Quaade, Lasse Norman (Stölting) and Søren Kragh (Giant-Alpecin) and U23 world champion Mads Würtz Schmidt. However, it was a continental rider who came away with the spoils after a surprising race on the 43km course in Vordingborg.

31-year-old Martin Toft Madsen is known as a TT specialist but few would have imagined that he would be able to upset the favourites. However, he turned out to be faster than everybody else, covering the course in a time of 51.43.

Toft Madsen was the seventh last rider to start the race, with all of the favourites starting later, but when he arrived at the finish to beat previous leader Kasper Asgreen by 29 seconds, it was already clear that only Valgren would be a real threat. The intermediate times had clearly revealed Toft Madsen, Valgren and Asgreen as the strongest riders in the race but it would be a nail-biting battle between the former two.

Valgren had been four seconds slower at the first time check and six seconds behind at the second check so all was still to play for when he appeared on the finishing straight. However, he was unable to turn things around and in the end he had to settle for second, 12 seconds behind the new champion.

None of the late starters were even close to the best, with former champion Quaade 2.24 behind in fourth while Lars Carstensen was a surprise fifth. Pre-race favourites Norman, Würtz and Juul rounded out the top 8.

Attention now turns to the road race where Chris Anker Sørensen is the defending champion.