Last weekend, the Cross Country National Championship, widely regarded as the toughest and most important race in the local mountain bike calendar, was held at Tal-Mizieb.

The race, organised by the Malta Mountain Bike Association (MMBA) and sponsored by Green Grove Guest House, comprised seven laps around the Mizieb course, covering the Olympic distance of 42km.

All the leading elite riders turned up for this important event. From the start, the main contenders remained together until defending champion Etienne Bonello broke away in the second lap.

Leaving the rest of field trailing in his wake after his powerful attack, Bonello kept increasing his lead till the finish, breaking the course record by over five minutes.

His winning time was 1:47.01.

Bonello, who missed the National Points series title due to mechanical problems despite winning three races, has shown excellent form and has his eyes firmly set on the 2005 GSSE in Andorra.

In the meantime, the chasing pack, composed of Mark Bonnici and Ishmael Muscat, battled it out for the remaining positions.

Bonnici completed the race over nine minutes behind Bonello in 1:56:34.

Muscat was forced to withdraw due to an accident. Third spot was claimed by Gozitan rider Dominic Cutajar in 2:00:01.

Sports category

In the sports category, the riders had to cover four laps for a total distance of 24.8km.

Owen Ciantar was the winner of this race in 01:11:13, followed by Stefan Fenech (01:19:15) and Ray Galea (01:20:28).

Mountain bike racing takes a short break and will be back with the Summer Cup in mid-July.

In a statement, the MMBA commended the riders for the commitment and dedication shown during the season and thanked all the sponsors who supported their activities.