Tony Martin wins final race of the year at the Chrono des Nations

Martin: Eighth victory of the season

Tony Martin rounded off his season in triumphant style by defending his title at the Chrono des Nations.

The two-time world time trial champion was the final rider to fly down the start ramp in Les Herbiers and his time of 58 minutes 07 seconds over the undulating 48.5km circuit proved 41 seconds faster than Omega Pharma - Quick-Step team-mate Sylvain Chavanel.

BMC rider Taylor Phinney rounded off the podium by stopping the clock just one second down on the reigning French champion, while Team Sky duo Chris Froome and Richie Porte finished in 17th and 21st positions respectively.

Season finale

The race had taken part under cloudy yet dry conditions and Carlos Oyarzun (Equipe du Chili) set down an early marker with his time of 1hr 01min 42sec.

Almost half the field had crossed the finish line before Oyarzun was knocked off top position by Chavanel, who became the first rider to smash the one-hour mark after edging out his one-minute man Jeremy Roy (FDJ-BigMat) at the line.

And that was how things stayed until the closing stages when Martin clocked the fastest splits at both intermediate time checks before surging home for his eighth victory of the season.

Froome brought the race to a close moments later and told TeamSky.com: "I've taken a month off since the World Championships so it was nice to stretch the legs again.

"I'm obviously not in the same condition as I was during the height of the season but I've really enjoyed being part of this event and it was a nice way to round off my campaign.

"Tony Martin's come out and shown us all once again why he's world time trial champion, and he deserved his victory.

"There was no wind or rain out there today, and the course was a really testing one. You have to have good legs to get round it in a competitive time and it's definitely one I'd like to come back to in better condition."