Three days after beating his teammate Rui Costa in the time trial, Nelson Oliveira (Lampre-Merida) has made the double at the Portuguese road championships by adding the road race to his palmares. The TT specialist took a solo victory ahead of Sergio Sousa (Efapel) and Tiago Machado (NetApp-Endura).

Three days ago Nelson Oliveira recommended himself for the Lampre-Merida Tour de France roster when he beat his captain and friend Rui Costa in the Portuguese TT championships. If his spot wasn't secured back then, he probably sealed it today when he won the road race.

In the 201km race in Sabugal that was held on a selective course, Oliveira emerged as the strongest as he beat Sergio Sousa by 5 seconds. One of the pre-race favourites, Tiago Machado (NetApp-Endura), could only manage third, finishing 7 seconds further adrift.

To avoid the risk of crashing so close to the Tour, Rui Costa chose to skip the event, meaning that Oliveira was the only Lampre rider on the start line. Nonetheless, he managed to bring the jersey back to a team at the highest level for the first time in more than a decade.

In the next few days, it will be announced whether Oliveira will be allowed to wear the jersey at the Tour de France.

Result:

1. Nelson Oliveira 5.32.15

2. Sergio Sousa +0.05

3. Tiago Machado +0.12

4. Andre Cardoso +0.31

5. Joni Brandao +0.32