Team Greens emerged victorious during a team time trial race which they hosted, under the auspices of the Malta Cycling Federation, at the Coast Road recently.

They resisted the fierce challenge from the Mosta CC and The Cyclist CC riders to win the race with a very narrow margin.

Teams of three or four riders were set off at two-minute intervals to cover a distance of 30kms along the scenic route in Baħar iċ-Ċagħaq. The leading clubs fielded their best riders on the day meaning the contest was open and competitive.

The race was indeed tight and at the very last lap Mosta were leading the timesheets with a three-second margin.

But Team Greens again showed their true mettle in time trial racing as riders Etienne Bonello, James Mifsud, Michael Camilleri and Jeffrey Borg combined perfectly to turn the result in their favour in the final kilometres, edging Mosta CC by just seven seconds.

The Cyclist CC formation were third in 45 minutes and 38 seconds, a further 12 seconds behind Mosta.

Team Greens also claimed the honours in the women’s time trial as Michelle Vella Wood and Marie Claire Aquilina had the better of a mixed Mosta CC/The Cyclist team.

“We could not believe at first that we had succeeded in pulling this one off,” Bonello said.

“Only 24 hours before the time trial our participation was in doubt after an incident during training,” he added.

“It wasn’t a smooth race but we managed to hang in there till the very end.”

Team Greens manager and Race Director Frank Dimech also had words of praise for his riders.

“We were not sure whether our riders would be able to perform to their potential after the training mishap,” he said.

“But this shows the depth of our team and the strength of our riders in the championship.”

The organisers of the time trial race were also assisted by the sponsorships of Arrts Electronic Timing, Go&Fun, Garmin, BBB Bike Parts and Buff Headwear.

The next fixture on the calendar will be a road race over the Żebbuġ bypass, organised by Mosta Cycling Club, on Sunday.