For the third year in a row and fourth  time in his career, Columbia-Highroad’s Marco Pinotti has once again earned the right to wear the Italian national time trial champion’s jersey.

Already the winner of the same event in 2005, 2007 and 2008, Pinotti’s third straight victory in the Italian national time trial championships came after he clocked a time of 39 minutes and 22 seconds for the 32.4 kilometre time trial, with the last part held on the famous Imola Formula One motor racing circuit.

Fastest at all the time checks, Pinotti finished 19 seconds ahead of Gabriele Bosisio and 1 minute 9 seconds ahead of Maurizio Biondo.

“I came out of the Giro d’Italia in very good shape,” Pinotti said later. “Then I deliberately didn’t do the Tour of Switzerland so I could focus on the Italian national championships. It was a course that suited me well, fast at the start and then afterwards a bit hillier when we got on the circuit.”

“The hardest part was handling the rain, it was the same for everybody but it made the course a bit dangerous - my back wheel slipped a couple of times.”

The last rider to start, Pinotti said he rode most of the race unaware of whether his times were good enough to get him the win.

“I knew that I was ahead after 12 kilometres, but that was it. Afterwards I just kept going, I’d done the course the day before so I knew roughly how to calculate my strength.”

Pinotti’s fourth Italian time trial title makes him the outright record-holder for wins in the event. He was previously tied on victories with Marco Velo, who won in 1998, 1999 and 2000.