Sergei Chernetckii (Katusha) confirmed the good form he showed at last week's Tour de Suisse by claiming a maiden Russian TT title in a dramatic race. The versatile Russian was just one second faster than runner-up Pavel Brutt (Tinkoff) while Maxim Belkov made it two Katusha riders on the podium.

During his first years as a professional, Sergei Chernetckii has occasionally proved his talent. Strong on the climbs and a solid time triallist, the Russian has the complete package to become a great stage race rider but he has lacked the consistency to notch up any major stage race results.

Last week Chernetckii proved that he has taken another step as he rode to 10th at the Tour de Suisse and even got very close to victory in the final stage. Today he again proved his great form when he won his first Russian TT title.

However, it was no easy day for the Katusha rider on the 40.1km course in Sevastopol. Pavel Brutt turned out to be a tough rival as the Tinkoff rider missed out on gold by just one second. Maxim Belkov was 1.03 behind in third.

It was Chernetckii's second medal in the TT championships after his second place in 2014. He now turns his attention to Sunday's road race where Yury Trofimov is the defending champion.