Bradley Wiggins gained a measure of revenge over German Tony Martin with victory in the final-stage time trial at the Tour of the Algarve.
Martin beat Wiggins to gold in the World Championships time trial in Denmark last September but the British rider, who grew up in Maida Vale, triumphed in Portimao on Sunday – by less than a second.
Wiggins blasted to victory in 32 minutes 48 seconds on the 25.8km course but the battle between the duo is likely to go on throughout 2012 – including the Olympic time trial on 1 August.
“Wiggins was really strong and he deserved the victory,” said Martin.
“It was a nice duel with Bradley and I’m sure this year we will see other good fights as today.”
The Olympic race, around Hampton Court, is on a longer course of 44km and Wiggins will have already put in a major effort, aiming to help Mark Cavendish to victory in the road race five days previously.
Wiggins spent much of the five-day race in the Algarve supporting Sky team-mate Richie Porte, who won the overall race, 37 seconds ahead of Martin, with Wiggins a further seven seconds back in seventh place.
Wiggins and his team have yet to confirm his next race as he continues his build-up to the Tour de France, which starts on 30 June.
But he is likely to compete in the seven-stage Paris-Nice race, which starts with a short individual time trial on 4 March.
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This post was last modified on 20/02/2012