Our geography for the National Championships

It was a thrilling finale, where the legs perhaps counted more than the speed. Sprints are not my speciality, but I learned to play my chances in the best way and to believe in it, always. Having played it to the line made it more and more special. I don't know how many more sprint races I will win, but it is a great satisfaction and a sign that I feel good and on the right path to my best level.

Today there were only a few of us, only Gaia and Yaya with me. But they both raced for four! With Gaia we left no stone unturned to avoid the sprint. She tried and I covered her. We played as a team, we understood each other and we only thought about doing what was good for the team. Yaya was nothing short of perfect. A domestique who sacrificed herself to allow us to fight for the win. - Elisa Longo Borghini, once again national road race and time trial champion of Italy.

As happened for the TT title, I never get tired of winning championships. With today's one, I reached the number of 11, but each one has its own story and its own charm. The motivation is never lacking, as is the love for this sport, the desire to compete and... to win. I believe this is my greatest strength.

It was an amazing day, we rode perfectly as a team. We had a breakaway go away that was good for us and straight away Asbjørn started to pull . Me and Mads saved ourselves for the final and when we hit the last laps we realised that people were looking more at Mads than me. Mads told me to try on the climb, but before that we hit a really technical sector and he said that I needed to go then. I went with 6 other guys and we could control it from there. I didn’t really feel on top of the pedals but was able to repeat a lot of efforts.
For me, this is one of the biggest things you can do in cycling: wearing the national jersey at the Tour. I was super emotional after the finish line. Going to the my first Tour de France with the national champion jersey is such a special feeling. - Mattias Skjelmose, winner of Danish road race championship.

The race was full gas from the start like always. A lot of attacks and I managed to make a break. At the start we were just two guys and then after a while four more guys joined us. For 40km the gap was only 15-20 seconds until suddenly the gap went up to 2;50”. In the final there were laps with cobbles, up and down. I felt super super good and I managed to hold a gap until the finish. I also won the Baltic championships, coming solo to the finish. I’m super happy that I can wear the jersey for another year! I checked the results for the other races and it looks like we have lots of national champions, so lots of work for Santini! - Emīls Liepiņš, back-to-back Latvian road race champion.

The time trial was held at a race track that we have raced a few times before so it was actually quite familiar to all and pacing should not really have been too big an issue. But, today was quite hot, especially for Latvia, and also windy so I definitely made sure I started pretty conservatively and then picked up the pace as the final approached. It feels pretty good to get another title. Nationals is always a hard race no matter if it's the time trial or the road race and it always gives you extra motivation on doing well because you get to represent your country very clearly for the rest of the year. I am pretty happy to get this fourth title, three in a row in the last three years, so a nice hat-trick and now looking forward to the road race with Emīls. - Toms Skujiņš

It was a hard race, especially with the weather: hot and windy. I’m really happy for this win, but most of all for the way I did it, for my performance. I was able to express my best power, to put everything I had on the road. I’m really satisfied. The Giro gave me a boost of confidence and condition. At the end, it was a pity I had to abandon due to the crash. But I was able to keep that good form until these days and the effort has been repaid. On Sunday, for the road race, it will be a very different race, definitely the hardest with the tough competition I have to face. But I feel good and don’t want to leave any stone unturned to make the win happen. - Amanuel Ghebreigzabhier, two times winner of Eritrean TT championship

Having this jersey on my shoulders is a very special feeling. It’s a big win for me, it repays the efforts and the hard times I had last year. I can’t wait to wear it and I really look forward to show the colors of my Nation in the big events of the season. I feel really proud.

I’m also really happy for the way I took it. When we started the final lap of the circuit, it was pretty clear that I had to play my chances in a sprint. And I was confident my chances were good, it was slightly uphill, it suited me really well. I also knew the circuit since last year, I faced the sprint knowing the exact point to open the gas and release all my power. I feel this is my trademark and I’m really happy today I was able to show it. I love this kind of races and I look forward to have many more chances like this. - Mathias Vacek, national champion of Czechia.

I’m very happy and proud to wear the national jersey for a year. For many years I finished second, either in the TT or road race, so it was definitely something I wanted to achieve in my career. I was thinking about this race for quite a while, since the Giro on. It was also a good opportunity to open up the legs for the Tour de France next week. It was very hilly and not easy to pace right, so I went into it a little cautious and then did the second lap fast enough to take the win. A very good day and very good feelings. I’m happy and proud! - Alex Kirsch, winner of Luxembourg TT Championship