Galea, Vella Wood stamp their authority

Birkirkara St Joseph SC triathletes were the dominant force in the third leg from the 2012 triathlon series organised by the same club at Salina Bay last weekend.

This series of four races is sponsored by Festina and The Cyclist, and is held under the auspices of the Malta Triathlon Association.

The race started with a 750-metre swim and BSJ duo David Agius Lia and Keith Galea led the field finishing the first segment in 11:17 and 11:19 respectively.

Third out of the water was Graham Borg in 11:55.

After the ensuing 20-kilometre cycle, Galea reached transition area in 29:43 followed by team-mate Rudolph Agius (29:56) and Borg (30:18) in third place.

Galea kept a relentless pace in the final five-kilometre run (17:50) to win the race in 59:42 and maintain his unbeaten streak going in the championship.

Agius was a comfortable second after a run of 19:32 to finish the race in 1:02.43.

Following a disappointing start to the race, Steve Chetcuti soon found his feet to eventually finish third with a run of 19:04 seconds. He had an accumulated time of 1:04.08 and that completed a full house for Birkirkara SJ on the Salina Bay podium.

There was a major surprise in the women’s race as national champion Danica Bonello Spiteri suffered a rare upset at the hands of her Birkirkara SJ rivals.

The St Patrick’s AC triathlete finished her swim a massive 92 seconds ahead of her nearest rival, Margaret Seguna (Mellieħa AC, 12:11), with Hannah Pace (12:14) trailing behind in third.

However, as expected, BSJ’s Michelle Vella Wood turned on the power in the cycle, returning to transition area in 32:26 and leading Bonello Spiteri by five seconds.

Johanna Calleja (BSJ) was third, 70 seconds behind the Malta champion.

Visibly struggling in the run, Bonello Spiteri could not keep up with the leader and, behind her, Calleja was closing the gap significantly. Vella Wood’s advantage at half-way distance was clear and she administered that lead wisely to cruise to victory, completing the run in 21:25 and finishing the race in 1:07.43.

Bonello Spiteri was also surpassed by Calleja who registered the best running time of the day (21:09) for an overall 1:08.41, nine seconds ahead of Bonello Spiteri.

The first relay team past the gantry was composed of M. Mifsud (swim), S. Sciberras (bike) and A. Camilleri (run).

They had a combined time of 57:54.

A first-time for the BSJ series was the participation of disabled athletes in the relay.

The special team – O. Scicluna (swim), N. Aquilina (cycling) and D. Vandit (run) – finished the race in 1:37.19.

The fourth and final leg of the series will be held at Salina Bay on September 16.