The first round of the Magri Cycles Cross Country National Points Series took place this morning at Miżieb.

The 4.6 km course is characterised by rocky terrain, technical single tracks and a challenging descent at the end of the lap. The course was covered 6 times by the Elite category, 5 times by the Ladies and 4 times by the Sport Category.

The highly anticipated race did not fail to excite the many mountain bike enthusiasts who witnessed the race with Malta’s topmost mountain bike athletes on the start line.

In the male event, it was full throttle from the first few hundred metres as riders dashed from the line right into the first uphill with Mark Bonnici (Agones) and Maurice Formosa (The Cyclist) creating a sizeable gap on the entire field.

The duo kept a solid pace to increase their lead but it was Formosa who won the race in 1hr 20 mins 35 secs. Bonnici finished second home in 1hr 23 mins 32 secs while Etienne Bonello (Team Greens) settled for 3rd in 1hr 28 mins 50 secs.

In the Ladies Category, triathlete Danica Bonello Spiteri finished 1st in 01:21:36 followed by Marie Claire Aquilina in 01:24:01 who unfortunately punctured in the 4th lap and lost the lead. Lara Buttigieg settled for 3rd.

In the Sport Category newcomer Alex Gatt won the race in 01:02:50, followed by Eyal Steinitz in 01:04:10 and Francesco Sultana in 01:04:15

Next race on the M.M.B.A calendar will be held at Mġarr on Sunday 24 July at 8.00am.

The race was organized by the Malta Mountain Bike Association and sponsored by Magri Cycles of Mosta.

For more info log on: www.maltamountainbike.org.mt