Nelson Oliveira recommended himself for the Movistar team for the Tour de France by taking a dominant win at the Portuguese time trial championships. The defending champion took his third title by beating José Mendes (Bora-Argon 18) by 1.13 while Rafael Reis (W52) was fractions of a second slower in third.
Since he took his first national title in 2011, Nelson Oliveira has been the dominant Portuguese time triallist. Today he lined up as the two-time defending champion and the overwhelming favourite to make the hattrick.
Oliveira left no doubt about his status as the best in the country as he covered the 36km course in Braga in a time of 43.50 which was 15 seconds faster than the time he set on the same course twelve months ago. At the halfway point, he was a bit slower than Rafael Reis but unlike his rival he blasted through the second part. In the end, he beat José Mendes by 1.13 while Reis had to settle for third, fractions of a second further adrift.
Oliveira now sets his sights on Sunday's road race where he hopes to take a second title after his victory in 2014.
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