Castroviejo overcomes injury, mechanical to reclaim Spanish title - News shorts

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European champion Jonathan Castroviejo (Movistar)(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)

Movistar's Jonathan Castroviejo reclaimed the Spanish time trial title in Soria on Friday, topping Team Sky's Mikel Landa by more than a minute.

"I had to withdraw from the Tour de Suisse with that pain in my stomach, which made me difficult to absorb any food I ate, but my condition – as shown on the opening TT – was really good," Castroviejo said. "I spent three days completely off the bike and got back to it searching for those good sensations, then I started thinking about this championship. It was both a test on how I was doing on the bike before the Tour and also a bid for that third title."

The 43km route, Castroviejo said, was "incredibly tough" with strong winds, high heat and constant undulations. His race came to a halt briefly when he suffered a mechanical and had to switch bikes, leaving him without the power meter for reference. "I had to use my instinct, but managed myself well over the second half of the race. I think the gaps were really made on that part, with such strong headwinds. It's a distance which suits me well, I always do great at TTs lasting roughly an hour."

Castroviejo's victory was Movistar's only win in the various national championships that have run so far. Nelson Oliveira was unable to start the championships in Santa Maria da Feira, Portugal because, the team says, his start time was changed without sufficient notice. Daniele Bennati dropped out of the Italian time trial, and Alex Dowsett was defeated by Steven Cummings for the British title on the Isle of Man.