The six-man team, led by last year's individual time trial champion Tony Martin, completed the 53.2 kilometre course in 1 hour 03min 17sec to finish 3.16sec ahead of American team BMC and Australian squad Orica-Greenedge.

Britain's Team Sky of Britain, who were missing Tour de France winner and individual time-trial Olympic champion Bradley Wiggins, finished ninth.

Omega Pharma-Quick Step were one of the favourites for the event with a line-up including Martin and three other national time-trial champions - Frenchman Sylvain Chavanel, Belgian Kristof Vandewalle and Slovakian Peter Velits - as well as Belgium's former road world champion Tom Boonen.

The fourth rider across the line in each team counted. 

"We fought together as a team," said Martin, who had won the Olympic silver medal at London 2012 behind Wiggins.

"The team work was once again the key to the success.

"This victory gives me lot of confidence for Wednesday's race [the individual time-trial]."

Boonen claimed the new event ranked alongside anything else he had achieved in the sport.

"I put this victory near my biggest, along with the Classics and the Road World Championship," he said.

"I didn't expect to win a race like this, first of all because it never existed before and in the past it wasn't our discipline.

"We worked a lot and now we are there.

"It's a team victory even for the staff.

"It's really a change of mentality going on."

The races marked a return to the World Championships of team time trials after a 17-year absence and the debut of the race for professional teams instead of national teams.

Britain's Sharon Laws (left) and Emma Pooley of stand on the podium after their Dutch team won the bronze medals in the women's team time trial at the World Championships

Earlier, German team Specialized-Lululemon took the women's title ahead of Australia Orica-AIS and Dutch team AA Drink, including Britain's Britain's Emma Pooley and Sharon Laws.

The victorious team, led by 2008 world time-trial champion Amber Neben of the United States, completed the 34.2km course between Sittard/Geelen and Valkenburg in a time of 46:31.

Specialized finished 24 seconds ahead of Orica, who boasted the top two finishers in the 2011 individual time-trial in the form of Germany's Judith Arndt and Linda Villumsen of New Zealand.

Apart from Neben, 37, Specialized's line-up also featured another American, Evelyn Stevens, Dutchwoman Ellen Van Dijk, and German trio Charlotte Becker, Trixi Worrack and Ina-Yoko Teutenberg. 

It was the last race for Pooley's team, who are having to disband for financial reasons.

It has left the 2008 Olympic silver medallist and former world time trial champion, contemplating retirement.

"I think we wanted to show something as a team that we can do a really good result," said Pooley.

"It's a bit sad the team is coming to an end.

"This is the kind of thing team sponsors get into team sponsoring for and it's brilliant to be on a World Championships podium, which doesn't usually happen.

"But I think we made a point, which is good." 

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