Bonello edges Formosa in bypass sprint finish
Micallef comfortable winner in women’s race
More than 80 cyclists recently lined up at the start for a championship race at the undulating St Paul’s Bay Bypass. Melita Cycling Club were the organisers of the road race.
The strong winds didn’t help cyclists at this circuit, making it one of the toughest but most anticipated races of the season.
With places in the Malta team for the Liechtenstein GSSE up for grabs, the most contested race was the one reserved for Elite riders with more than 30 starters.
Competitors in this category had to cover the route 15 times for a total distance of 87 kilometres.
Patrick Scicluna (Melita Pedal Power) launched an immediate attack. He was joined by Jason Vella (Greens), Jack Schiavone (Qormi) and Duncan Galea (Mosta AF Sign Studio).
Schiavone and Galea couldn’t match the pace of the other two pacesetters and soon dropped out from the breakaway group. Scicluna and Vella continued to increase their pace though and opened a comfortable gap on the chasing group.
Back in the peleton, several counter-attacks splintered the group and various riders lost contact. A chasing pack of five, made up of Maurice Formosa (Melita), Clive Ebejer (Melita), Mark Bonnici (Melita), David Galea (Qormi) and Etienne Bonello (Greens), was combining perfectly and they soon started to bridge the gap on the front runners.
Eventually the bold effort of Scicluna and Vella was neutralised as they were reeled in by the end of the 11th lap. Scicluna was ex-hausted after his explosive start and dropped back but Vella did manage to hang on to the group.
A sprint had to decide the outcome at St Paul’s Bay and in the end Bonello edged Formosa and David Galea, 2:33.20 being the winner’s official time.
In the women’s race, Marica Micallef (Melita Pedal Power) had a comfortable victory, winning the 52km race in 1:56.
Rachel Pullicino (Mosta) was second in 2:04.25 and Claudia Zammit (Mosta) third in 2:08.10.
Ruben Buhagiar and Nicholas Valenzia were the official time-keepers as the organisers were assisted by various marshals and other helpers.
Full results of the race in St Paul’s Bay may be viewed on www.melita-cyclingclub.com.