The brilliant performances in the recent national championships triggered raw emotional scenes of celebration in many countries for fizik riders.

Tears of joy, arms held aloft, jerseys kissed, punching the sky… whatever the gesture the feeling is shared around the world in a common language that needs no words: it’s the elation of winning the races that count most in an athlete’s home country. Men’s and Women’s Elites across road and time trial saw a huge haul of riders now proudly entitled to wear their national jerseys at the year’s forthcoming events!

There were triple celebrations for Movistar Team riders in Spain this week: in the men’s race it was El Bala – who else! Alejandro Valverde winning at home in Murcia to take his third Spanish road title. Lourdes Oyarbide is the new women’s road race champion, while Shelya Gutiérrez won her first TT title.

Making a clean sweep for fizik riders in Spain, Jonathan Castroviejo of Team Ineos claimed his third consecutive Spanish TT title, an impressive 48 seconds clear, that’s five in total. His teammate Filippo Ganna was run considerably closer in the Italian TT, stepping up from last year’s second place to claim the top step in 2019. Another team-mate, Ben Swift won the British road title for the first time, blasting past yet another Ineos rider (and former British champion) Ian Stannard in the final kilometer.

Team Jumbo-Visma’s Amund Grøndahl Jansen sprinted to the Norwegian road title. Meanwhile his team-mates were hauling in the TT titles: Wout van Aert won in Belgium – a first national champion medal won on tarmac to hang alongside his multiple cyclocross world gongs – and Jos van Emden went double Dutch with his second national jersey while another seasoned campaigner, Tony Martin overcame a mechanical to bag an astonishing ninth German title.

AG2R La Mondiale’s Gediminas Bagdonas powered to victory in the Lithuanian time trial, the 33-year-old’s fourth national TT title complementing last year’s double.

Cofidis’ Natnael Berhane took his second Eritrean road title, matching his pair of African Champion wins. His team-mates Julien Simon and Damien Touze came second and third in a tightly-fought French road race.