Sir Bradley Wiggins (GB) is the new world time trial champion following an excellent showing in Spain this afternoon.
Wiggins saw off the challenge of Tony Martin (GER), the champion for the last three years, by more than 26 seconds.
Martin came into the race as the favourite and rode well, but Wiggins' magnificent ride clinched victory.
The early pace was set by Nelson Oliveira (POR), who went round in a time of 57:46.
Oliveira remained in the hotseat for some time as the favourites began to approach the finish.
In the end, the Lampre-Merida rider's strong ride saw him hold on to take seventh place, a result which will please him and his team greatly.
As Wiggins approached the finish, the GPS tracking system showed him to be ahead of Martin in the virtual standings.
However, the 2012 Tour de France champion never eased up and collapsed to the ground after crossing the line, visibly exhausted with the effort he had just put in.
But once it became impossible for Martin to overhaul his lead, the British national champion showed few signs of fatigue, lapping up the acclaim of the Spanish crowd.
Dutchman Tom Dumoulin finished third, 14 seconds down on Martin.
"I knew coming into it that I had the legs," Wiggins said following his success.
"Once I saw the course I realised if I was ever going to beat Tony again it was on a course like this.
"It's been an up and down year - obviously I didn't ride the Tour de France. I want to dedicate this to my family because they had to put up with me when I was at home in July.
"It's my last Road World Championships and I've finished with a gold medal."
The world championships continue on Friday with the under-23 road race, before the women's race on Saturday. The men's race on Sunday rounds off the championships.