Etienne Bonello won the opening round of the time trial national championships, held on the Mrieħel Bypass last weekend.

High on confidence after clocking 33 minutes 26.73 seconds in finishing ninth at the GSSE time trial in Liechtenstein earlier this month, Bonello, of Team Greens, had no rivals on the day as he completed the 25km distance in 35:47.

Mosta AF Sign Studio time trial specialist Steve Sciberras was second in 36:29. Jason Vella, of Team Greens, produced a strong performance to finish third, just 10 seconds behind Sciberras.

The race was very close at first as the leading cyclists recorded similar times in the initial laps. However, Bonello upped the tempo in the final kilometres to secure first place with a 42-second margin from the second-placed Sciberras.

The race was organised by the Malta Cycling Federation with the assistance of the police and officials of local clubs. The next round of the time trial championships will take place on Sunday along the Baħar iċ-Ċagħaq coast road.

The winners
Elite: Etienne Bonello (Team Greens) 00:35:47.
Ladies: Marie Claire Aquilina (Team Greens) 00:42:50.
Masters 60+: Emmanuel Camilleri (Mosta) 00:43:59.
Masters 50+: Emmanuel Bezzina (Mosta) 00:39:27.
Masters 40+: Kevin Muscat (Qormi Scotts) 00:38:23.
Juniors: Terrence Lauri (Team Greens) 00:52:29.
U-15 girls: Michela Galea (Qormi Scotts) 00:18:20.
U-15 boys: Carl Xuereb (Mosta) 00:14:52.
U-12 girls: Maria Grech (Mosta) 00:07:03.
U-12 boys: Isaac Spiteri (Melita) 00:06:02.

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