[3] The event was won by Lothar Thoms of East Germany, the nation's second consecutive victory in the men's track time trial (tying Australia, Italy, and Denmark for second-most all-time).

Aleksandr Panfilov of the Soviet Union took silver, the nation's first medal in the event since 1960.

Denmark's three-Games medal streak (entirely the work of Niels Fredborg) ended.

The favorite was East German Lothar Thoms, the 1978 and 1979 world champion.

[3] Ecuador, Libya, and Zimbabwe each made their debut in the men's track time trial.