A few weeks after winning a stage at the Criterium du Duaphiné, Rui Costa (Lampre-Merida) confirmed that he is ready for the Tour de France when he won the Portuguese road race championships. On a hard 193.2km course in Bragam he came out on top in a 4-rider sprint while Joni Brandao (Efapel) and Tiago Machado (Katusha).

After his World Championships victory, Rui Costa has been known as one of the best one-day riders in the world but until today his national road race title had always escaped him. Finally, he has filled that gap in his palmares when he came out on top in the 2015 edition of the race.

Costa had already shown good condition in the Criterium du Dauphiné where he won a stage and finished third overall and so it was no surprise that he found himself in the 4-rider group that emerged at the end of a very hard, selective race. Finally, he made use of his good sprint to beat Joni Brandao, Tiago Machado and Amaro Antunes in the final dash to the line.

Costa takes over the jersey from teammate Nelson Oliveira who won the time trial title. Both are expected to be part of the Lampre-Merida team for the Tour.