News | National championship | Team • June 26, 2026
Nils Politt and António Morgado win their National Time Trial Championships
UAE Team Emirates-XRG duo take the German and Portuguese titles, respectively, with their teammates impressing across a number of nations
Hot on the heels of Jan Christen’s success in Switzerland, Nils Politt claimed the German National Time Trial Championships for UAE Team Emirates-XRG. The German rouleur bettered his competition by less than two seconds, landing another national title for the Emirati squad.
Riding aboard the new Colnago TT2 bike, Politt produced a splendid performance in Streufdorf, setting the fastest time across the 41km course. It marks the third time that the 32-year-old has landed the national title aboard his time trial bike, and will give the German another year wearing the national colours against the clock.
On Friday afternoon, both Max Walscheid (Lidl-Trek) and Jasha Sütterlin (Jayco AlUla) came close to Politt’s time of 48:25, but neither man was able to overhaul the UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider come the line. For Politt, the display was one worthy of the team’s 46th win of the 2026 campaign.
Politt: “I am super happy with the title. It was close! I had a small problem in the second half of the course when my chain dropped, so it was getting even closer then, but in the end, two seconds are two seconds. I am super happy to take this with me to the next race, it is my third title in the time trial.”
Photo above: © Mareike Engelbrecht
German National Championships ITT – Elite Men results:
1. Nils Politt (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) 48:25
2. Max Walscheid (Lidl-Trek) +2″
3. Jasha Sütterlin (Jayco AlUla) s.t
Belgians and Mikkel Bjerg impress as António Morgado takes Portuguese title
It was a successful afternoon for UAE Team Emirates-XRG on the nationals front, with António Morgado also picking up the Portuguese National Time Trial Championship. For the young talent, it is his third crown in a row, and the Emirati squad could also celebrate Ivo Oliveira in third place.
Over in Denmark, Mikkel Bjerg was narrowly pipped to the gold medal by Kristian Egholm of Lidl-Trek. Bjerg missed out by less than a second, but can nevertheless take a lot of satisfaction from his strong performance.
Equally, Tim Wellens, Rune Herregodts and Florian Vermeersch showed themselves well in the Belgian National Time Trial Championships. The trio finished second, fourth, and sixth, respectively, on a course that had been halved to 20km due to the intense heat.
Portuguese National Championships ITT – Elite Men results:
1. António Morgado (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) 33:15
2. Rafael Reis (Anicolor/Campicarn) +1″
3. Ivo Oliveira (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +20″
