The Polish national champion's jersey will stay in the ranks of the Omega Pharma-Quick Step team as Michal Kwiatkowski succeeds teammate Michal Golas as Poland's leading cyclist. The time trial specialist looks forward to showing off his new jersey when he lines up at the start of his first Tour de France on Saturday.

Surprisingly, Michal Kwiatkowski was defeated at the Polish time trial championships earlier this week as he was pushed into 2nd by Maciej Bodnar (Cannondale) but today he made up for his defeat with a win in the road race championships. Having joined Adrian Honkisz (CCC) and Lukasz Bodnar (Bank BGZ) in the decisive breakaway, the young Pole showed that he is also a fast finisher by beating his companions in the sprint.

The win makes sure that the Polish champion will once again be an Omega Pharma-Quick Step rider as defending champion Michal Golas had been a key support rider for Kwiatkowski in today's race. The eventual winner had been very aggressive throughout the entire race, attacking repeatedly until finally breaking clear in the final part of the race.

"It was an amazing day for me" Kwiatowski said. "First of all I want to say thanks to my teammate Golas, who really gave me a great hand today, and also to the staff here at the race. They were amazing the entire week!"

"Today it was a hilly course — not an easy parcour," he continued. "We tried to control the race in the first part, and then in the middle of the race we started to attack but nobody let us leave. I don't know how many attacks I did without succeeding. Then in a flat part I surprised the group. I attacked and I managed to bridge to the breakaway. At that point with about 10km to go I made an acceleration and I remained with only two other guys. We collaborated very well and I won the sprint."

The win follows on from a hugely successful start to the season which has seen him finish in the top 10 at the Tirreno-Adriatico, the Amstel Gold Race and the Fleche Wallonne. His results have earned him a sport in his team's line-up for the Tour de France and he now looks forward to debut at the world's biggest race in his new jersey.

"I'm really happy, it's a dream for me. I want to dedicate this victory to my family, my girlfriend, all my supporters. They deserve it, they are always with me. It will be a kind of honour to ride with this jersey at the Tour de France. I can't wait to show it next Saturday at the start!"

Result:

1. Michal Kwiatkowski 5.52.51

2. Adrian Honkisz

3. Lukasz Bodnar +0.01

4.Robert Radosz +1.03

5. Michal Olejnik +1.05