Egan Bernal, who took best young rider honours during the Tour Down Under, has won the time trial competition in the Colombian National Cycling Championships.
A member of Britain's Sky team, the 21-year-old completed the 25km circuit through Medellin in 28 minutes, 42 seconds, beating Daniel Martinez of the Education First team by six seconds.
"Obviously, I wanted to do the time trial, but it's not my specialty," Bernal told reporters after the race.
"To end up winning surprised me and left me very happy."
"Wearing this (national championship) jersey in Europe will be a great responsibility," he said.
Bernal earned best young rider honours in the Tour Down Under when he finished sixth in the general classification.
Last August, he won the Tour de l'Avenir (Tour of the Future), a race that follows the Tour de France limited to riders 23 and under who compete under their respective national flags.
