TUNJA, Colombia -- Miguel Indurain, five times Tour de France champion, claimed his first world title with an overwhelming victory in the road time-trial at the world cycling championships.


Indurain completed a tough, hilly course of 43 kilometers across the Colombian Andes from Paipa to the colonial city of Tunja in 55 minutes 30.4 seconds Wednesday, nearly 50 seconds faster than second-placed fellow Spaniard Abraham Olano.


Olano finished in 56:19.1, with Germany's Uwe Peschel third in 57:33.9.


It was quickly clear that Indurain, who started last in the field of 64 riders, was heading for victory on a course which contained two steep hills plus a final climb to the finishing line in Tunja's picturesque Plaza Bolivar.


He took 24.41 minutes to reach the 21-km mark, the fastest time at that point, and overtook Italy's Maurizio Fondriest, one of the pre-race favorites, shortly before the finish despite starting two minutes after him.


Stone-faced as usual after the race, Indurain said it had not been the most difficult time-trial of his career, despite racing at an altitude of 2,800 meters.


Indurain had never previously won a world title, although he was runner-up in the one-day road race in 1993.


The time-trial event, at which Indurain excels, was introduced only last year when it was won by Britain's Chris Boardman who was unable to defend his title in Colombia because of injury.


"Victories are the most important thing in my career and this is another one. But it is difficult to compare it with the ones I have had in the past," he said.