Danica Bonello Spiteri returns to Xterra World Championships in Hawaii following age-group qualification
The 2017 Xterra European Tour circuit kicked off with Xterra Malta on Sunday when two hundred international athletes descended on the stunning Majjistral Park, made available through strong collaboration with the Environment and Resources Authority to ensure that the event would revolve around the natural location.
With cloudy weather and an expectation of rain, the weather eventually settled throughout the morning making it ideal for racing.
In the men’s race Roger Serrano was the first out of the water followed by Maxim Chane and Hannes Wolpert. On the bike Serrano increased his lead, while Chane struggled with his hardtail bike. A flat tire caused Wolpert to withdraw. On the run Serrano kept the lead throughout. German Sasserath, grabbed second place from Francois Carloni who finished third.
Photo Credit: Jean Pierre Gatt
In the women’s race Nicole Walters, posted the fastest swim, behind her was Anna–Paulina Sasserath, followed by last’s year winner Brigitta Poor. In the bike segment Poor and Wasle passed Sasserath and Walters during the first 5km, but then Wasle flatted on the first downhill. Poor took the lead for good enough to secure her third Maltese win. Erbenova followed in second and Nicole Walters third.
Photo Credit: Jean Pierre Gatt
Malta goes to Hawaii
Triathlon veteran, Danica Bonello Spiteri will be returning to Xterra World Championships in Hawaii in October thanks to her age group win.
“I was third overall female out of the water and had a strong start to the bike leg though a puncture saw the end to that. But it’s never over till you reach the finish line. Fixed the puncture and dug deep to win my age category and secure my second participation at the Xterra World Championships in Maui, Hawaii at the end of this year!” – Danica Bonello Spiteri
Photo credit: emvigee/Maria Vella-Galea
Lara Buttigieg started with a very strong swim and was doing well on the bike but two punctures stopped her in her tracks resulting in a withdrawal from the race.
Ackerly Hili, Ryan Spiteri and Peter Jan Grech were the first three Maltese to cross the finish line, all registering strong performances compared to the previous year.
“My aim was to be in the top five of my age group and be one of the top Maltese finishers. I had a great swim, shedding off 25 minutes from last years’ time – this advantage helped to make up for time lost due to a puncture on the bike leg. Nevertheless, I am extremely pleased with my result” – Ackerly Hili
Race Organiser Nathan Farrugia was very pleased with the outcome – “Once again Malta was able to pull off a great event – the fact that international athletes keep on returning is a clear indication that Malta knows how to organise a race to their high level expectations. The dedicated crew have been working on the event for months to keep raising standards. Malta has such a wealth of sporting locations that we can use both to increase niche tourism – something we have been working closely with the Malta Tourism Authority, who have shown full support towards, as well as combat obesity and promote active lifestyles. We hope that next year’s edition will see more locals take on a personal challenge, either as individuals or as relay teams. In 2018 we will team up with a global travel company Nirvana, and a European TV production house to further increase our reach.”
Xterra Malta is made possible with the support of the Malta Tourism Authority, Radisson Blu Resort & Scouts, Eurosport, Cisk, Crane Currency, Jeep, Malta Police Force, Transport Malta, Mġarr Local Council, Agones SFC, Birkirkara St Joseph Sports Club Swimming Section, Red Cross Malta, Mediterranean Insurance Brokers, Mdina Glass, Garmin Malta, ProAction, The Cyclist, emvigee pr & marketing and Top3Meetings.
