Malta time trial champion Etienne Bonello, of Team Greens, was again impressive on foreign soil recently when taking part in the Sicilian Time Trial Championships which were staged at the Pergusa Circuit.

The 10km flat course saw fast times from the 70 riders who took to the start.

Bonello, very comfortable and now a notable name in this kind of competition, finished a whisker away from the podium, clocking 13 minutes and 13 seconds.

He was a mere two seconds away from third-placed Marino Fortuna, of Team Rubino, and 11 seconds slower than Luca Caruso, of Polisportiva Roller in Line, the race runner-up.

The winner on the day was Marino Sebastiano, of Team Rubino Romeo. His time was 12 minutes and 58 seconds.

Nonetheless, Bonello, who benefits from the Maltese government’s 20/20 Scheme and is also assisted by buffmalta.com and BBB bikeparts, finished first in his age-group category and improved his time on the Pergusa course by nine seconds over the previous edition of the time-trial race.