Set against the backdrop of the Mġarr-Ġnejna coastal ridge, the second race of the BDO Malta Cross Country National Points Series race played host to 47 cyclists, including 14 representing Latvia, Italy, England, Sweden, Canada and Bulgaria.
The rocky and at times narrow terrain claimed quite a few victims to crashes including two of the top three elite cyclists – Patrick Scicluna and Mark Bonnici emerged podium winners but not without some war wounds.
Italian rider Vincenzo Mento went all out to lead the pack early on though Bonnici (Agones SFC) was quick to react and swiftly started to close the gap.
Veteran Scicluna (Mosta Cycling Club) and Maurice Formosa (The Cyclist), who made a welcome return from injury, were hot on their heels working hard to keep up with Bonnici’s pace.
Bonnici was involved in a crash in the opening lap that cost him precious time while Etienne Bonello (Team Greens) played some interesting tactics to join the lead pack.
Until lap four it was evident that there was not going to be a clear predicted winner.
Mechanical issues however ended Formosa’s aspirations for a win. With Formosa out of the fray, Scicluna had Bonello and Bonnici to contend with for a podium place but in the end it was Scicluna who had the better of Bonello.
Scicluna crossed the finish line in a time of 1:15:26, ahead of Bonello (1:16:54).
Bonnici completed the Elite podium taking third place, in 1:19:07 after having fought to gain precious time lost during his fall.
“Today’s race was what I consider to be one of my best races, all lap times registered sub 13 minutes and I set a new lap record of 11 minutes 52 seconds. The route is quite tricky and despite suffering a crash I was able to recover lost ground,” Scicluna said.
In the overall classification, Scicluna and Bonello share equal points having both won and placed second in the two races so far.
Marie Claire Aquilina (Team Greens) continued to show that she is a constant force to be reckoned with having secured her second win of the Series in 57:01 minutes.
Danica Bonello Spiteri (Team Greens) was second in 1:06:15 while Latvian cyclist Zanda Rutkovska followed in third place (1:16:19).
There were no changes on the top of the podium from the first race in the Open category when Mosta CC’s Mark Zammit (53:03) fought hard to clinch his second win. Team MTB Malta’s Wayne Schembri (53:31) had the better of team-mate Ryan Darmanin to take second place in 54.09.
In the Masters class, Enrico Brandamante (59:57) took first place followed by Gozo’s Domenic Cutajar (1:00:01) and David Pace (1:04:21).
The third race of the series will take place on Sunday, April 16, at the Majjistral Park, starting at 8am.
The 2017 BDO Malta Cross Country National Point Series are being supported by BDO Malta and by Magri Cycles, Carm & Co Ltd (SIS products) and Island Beverages (H20nly).