Kiryienka wins time trial on day of surprises at World Road Cycling Championships

Vasil Kiryienka celebrates his maiden individual time trial world title in Richmond ©Getty Images

Belarus' Vasil Kiryienka powered to a shock time trial win on a day of surprises at the International Cycling Union (UCI) Road World Championships in the American city of Richmond, as German star Tony Martin's run of six successive podium-finishes was ended.

In the absence of defending champion Sir Bradley Wiggins, who is focusing on track training in his bid to gain a place in the British Olympic team for Rio 2016, and Swiss veteran Fabio Cancellara, Martin was the outstanding favourite to add to his victories in 2011, 2012 and 2013.

His main challenge was expected to come from Tom Dumoulin, the Dutch rider who won the individual time trial during the Vuelta a Espana earlier this month.

But it was Kiriyenka, the Team Sky rider who took bronze in 2012 and has finished fourth in each of the last two years, who rose to the fore on the 53 kilometres course, crossing the line in an impressive time of 1hour 2min 29.45sec.

“Today I knew it was a good race for me because the course was exactly the kind I like, that suits me,” he said afterwards.

“Okay, Cancellara was not here and Wiggins has stopped but all the other great time trial riders were here so I think the level was very high because everybody was there.”

“The most important thing today was to race against myself, a time trial against myself.

“I knew the time, the references but it was not so important but what I knew from the very beginning was I doing really well.

"Tony Martin and Tom Dumoulin were favourites but I think today was my day.”

Unheralded Italian Adriano Malori finished second, nine seconds behind, while Frenchman Jerome Coppel took bronze.

Adriano Malori claimed a surprise silver as many of the favourites floundered ©Getty Images

Dumoulin finished over a minute behind in fifth, while Martin was a further 15 seconds back in seventh.

"I don’t have the right answers," said the German.

"From the start and in the first eight kilometres I felt okay and that I had the power but when I entered the tailwind section I quickly lost my rhythm.

"It was too fast for me...then on the uphill sections I couldn’t find my rhythm and I lost morale.

"I couldn’t get it back and it wasn’t my day, for the second half of the race it was more of a mental problem than a physical one."

Australia's Rohan Dennis, another of the favourites who won the opening time trial at the Tour de France in July, saw his hopes evaporate midway through the race when he was forced to change bikes after a mechanical fault.

The women's elite road race will take place on Saturday (September 26), with the men's race to follow the next day.