Sir Bradley Wiggins entered last year's Olympic Games on the back of a historic achievement at the Tour de France, becoming the first British winner in the 99th edition of the race.
That triumph had catapulted the then 32-year-old into the spotlight ahead of London 2012, with the event starting just five days after his success in Paris.
Wiggins first had to play his part in the men's road race, where the target was to help Great Britain and Team Sky teammate Mark Cavendish to victory, but their tactics backfired, leaving Cavendish adrift of the leaders and Wiggins finishing in 103rd place.
The Lancashire resident's display resulted in suggestions that he was feeling the effects of his excursions in the Tour de France, and the dream of a seventh Olympic medal was diminishing.
The time trial discipline came just four days after the road race, and while Wiggins still took his place amongst the pre-race favourites, there will still several other contenders who could win gold.
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Switzerland's Fabian Cancellara was expected to be one of the leading names, but after crashing in the road race, he was hindered with injury.
Germany's Tony Martin had missed the Tour de France to ensure his fitness for London 2012 and was considered one of the main threats, while Chris Froome had put himself into the public eye with an impressive showing in France in assisting Wiggins to glory.
Martin was the first of the big names to complete the Surrey-to-London course, recording a time that was deemed competitive, and had a chance of earning gold.
Wiggins had previously lost to Martin over the 44km distance at the 2011 World Time Trial Championships and the onus was on the Brit to respond.
There were slightly worrying signs at the 9km checkpoint with Wiggins nine seconds behind his rival, but the slender deficit did not alarm the rider, who was looking for his fourth gold medal.
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A further 9km down the road, he had opened up an 11-second advantage, before extending that to 23 seconds with 16km to go.
Wiggins was riding fluently, and his triumph was never in doubt in the closing stages, enabling him to cruise home and seal the win by 42 seconds, with Martin earning silver and Froome bronze.
This success for Wiggins saw him surpass Sir Steve Redgrave as Great Britain's most decorated Olympian with seven medals, which was equalled by fellow cyclist Sir Chris Hoy later in the Games.
Wiggins also became the first rider to win an Olympic gold medal and the Tour de France in the same year, and his achievements saw him crowned BBC Sports Personality of the Year later in 2012.
The Chorley-based resident was also honoured with a knighthood shortly before the close of the year, marking arguably a six-month period in cycling that will never be rivaled.
