Having already won the time trial, Gatis Smukulis tried to make the double in yesterday's Latvian road race championships but being on his own, he faced an uphill battle. In the end, both he and Aleksejs Saramotins (IAM) were outnumbered and despite forming an alliance with his fellow professional, he had to settle for third.

Team Katusha’s rider Gatis Smukulis took the bronze medal in the road race of the 2014 Latvian National Championships, which ended in Smiltenē.

"In general, I am satisfied with my performance, but the main thing is I had a good feeling today during the race," he said. "After the time trial I recovered well, so I was full of energy. The weather was really bad, with strong rain and cold all the day. The road was slippery, so I tried to avoid the risks, because in two days I am going to England for the Tour de France.

"In the first part of the race 12 riders went in a breakaway. Together with Saramotins we did a counter attack and tried to catch them. One by one we caught all except only one rider, who managed to stay in front till the finish line. So, he won the race, while we finished more or less 1 minute later. I took third place. Thus, I am happy with my Latvian Championships and now I am looking forward to Team Katusha’s start at the Tour de France."

Andris Vosekalns from Ruetumu-Delfin became the new Latvian Champion. He attacked from the leading group and managed to save his advantage till the end. Silver medal took Aleksejs Saramotins from IAM Cycling, while Gatis Smukulis, as was said above, became the bronze medalist.