Searing temperatures coupled with a brutal terrain made conditions extremely tough for mountain bikers taking part in the third race of the Trustmoore Cross Country National Point Series. The weather conditions further contributed to disappointing participation in some of the categories.
Current Series leader Maurice Formosa (The Cyclist) retained his position despite stiff competition from Elite riders on the day.
The Elite crew saw a fast start led by Mark Bonnici (Agones SFC), set the pace with Formosa, Etienne Bonello (Team Greens) and Brandon Sultana (Gozo CC) fighting for a place in front. Bonello and Formosa took the lead at the first technical hill but by the first lap it was Formosa, Mark Zammit (Mosta AF Sign Studio CC) and Brandon Sultana to take the lead. As Formosa led the pack with a determined pace, places behind him kept changing throughout the race. With Zammit performing strongly, it was almost a sure podium placing for him but technical issues in the fifth lap forced him to retire. Bonello suffered a similar fate though he managed to finish the race. On the third lap Patrick Scicluna (FRM Racing Team Sicilia) managed to get overtake Sultana to continue producing a focused approach to the race to take second place behind Formosa. Sultana came in third.
In the Masters 40+ Category Ramon Grech (Agones SFC) led the way throughout to take his first win of the season. He was followed by Paul Zarb (The Cyclist) and Marco Portelli. In the Sport Category Liran Ben Ari (Agones SFC) led the way followed by Andrew Caruana and Dennis Dolci.
It was a two horse race between Marie Claire Aquilina (Team Greens) and Marion Said Pullicino (Mosta AF Sign Studio), in the Ladies’ category, with Aquilina registering another win under her belt. In the Juniors’ Category Clyve Chetcuti (Mosta AF Sign Studio) took home another win.
In the recently introduced E-Bikes category, Christian Mangion led the first lap against Robert Magro who overtook Mangion in the technical section. Mangion suffered a puncture but managed to close the gap between him and Magro with the latter winning the race.
“The hot weather conditions and the brutal terrain certainly did not contribute to the large participation we normally have at these races. Nevertheless, there was still a lot of action as the riders battled it out in this beautiful and scenic location” said Pierre Zammit Endrich, President of the Malta Mountain Bike Association.
The next commitment for some of the members of the Malta Mountain Bike Association will be the Hero Marathon. Set in the dolomites, covering a distance of 86kms and an altitude gain of 4500 metres the Hero is considered to be the world’s toughest mountain bike marathon. The Maltese cyclists taking part are Marie Claire Aquilina, Mark Bonnici, Maurice Formosa, Mark Micallef, Anton Muscat, Patrick Scicluna and Paul Zarb.
The Trustmoore Cross Country National Points Series is sponsored by Trustmoore Corporate Services and supported by Magri Cycles, Maypole, Go & Fun, H20nly and Jimmy Vella Fruit and Vegetables.
The third race of the Trustmoore Cross Country National Points Series is scheduled to take place on Sunday 30th June. Races start at 8am.
For further information please visit http://www.maltamountainbike.org.mt/2019.html or visit the Association’s Facebook page.
