Tinkoff-Saxo’s Peter Sagan claimed the victory in the combined Slovak and Czech Road Race Championship for a stunning fifth year in a row. The win came as a result of a solo move deep into the race that finished in Sagan’s hometown of Žilina, where the champion was joined on the podium by his brother Juraj, who claimed second place in the Slovak classification.
 
After having received the Slovak national jersey for the fifth time since 2011 in front of his cheering fan club, Peter Sagan tells that he is excited to reclaim the national championship.
 
"I am very happy that I managed to win a joint Czech - Slovak Championship. The conditions were difficult, but the competition was great. It’s a shame that together with Roman Kreuziger we failed to reach a team double for Tinkoff–Saxo. I have to thank everyone from Žilina and all the fans who came here. Despite the weather not being that nice, still the turnout was great and I'm glad that we have such a fan club. I am pleased that the race was organized in my hometown Žilina”, says Peter Sagan.
 
The combined Slovak and Czech National Road Race Championships consisted of 199 hard kilometers, where Tinkoff-Saxo lined up Peter Sagan, Juraj Sagan, Roman Kreuziger and Michael Kolar. Patxi Vila directed the squad from the sports director car and was after the race pleased with the outcome despite the fact that Kreuziger suffered a mechanical.
 
"It was a good day for Tinkoff-Saxo with the two Sagan brothers claiming the top spots of the Slovak podium. We are happy with Peter's gold and Juraj's silver medals. Unfortunately, Roman Kreuziger suffered a mechanical and that didn't allow us to also claim the Czech champion title. We only had four riders, so the toughest part for us was to find allies in the race see who could control it with us. The day's most important moment was to ensure that the breakaway, that sooner or later was meant to ride away, would be beneficial to us. We were able to achieve this in the initial part of a very wet and tough race and worked together with various teams, controlling the race until the two last laps”, explains Patxi Vila and adds about the race finale:
 
“At the final stage of the race, Peter attacked, resulting in a selection. The first group consisted of 6 riders, including Roman, who was there from a previous breakaway. Then the group slimmed down to just three riders and with 3km to go, Peter went solo and claimed the race. The nice surprise was to see Juraj taking second place in the Slovak Championship. On the other hand, unfortunately, Roman, who was in very good shape, had a setback with a mechanical problem that cost him precious time. It's a pity because he was in the previous breakaway, did a great effort today and missed a well-deserved Czech championship title”, asserts Patxi Vila, who now directs his attention to Tour de France.
 
"With six days to go until the Tour, Peter is on the right path and looks forward to the start. Last but not least, he used his new Specialized Venge ViAS and the sensation he had was very good just as in Tour de Suisse”.