The first round of the Barilla Summer Cup cross-country championship was held recently at Mizieb.

The race, organised by the Malta Mountain Bike Association (www.maltamountainbike.com), was 31kms long. The other two events in the Summer Cup series will be held in Delimara (July 31) and Pembroke (August 7).

In Mizieb, riders had to tackle a 6.2km circuit five times. Racing was held in scorching sunshine but participants never relented, particularly in the Elite category where Mark Bonnici, Etienne Bonello and Ishmael Muscat were among the favourites.

Although the Summer Cup is an out-of-season event, they showed no loss of form as organisers registered a marked increase in participation.

Bonello steadied his speed consistently to claim the honours in a record time for the circuit of 1:15.22. Muscat was second and Bonnici third as he had to throw in the towel in the last lap, probably due to exhaustion after a remarkable effort in the initial stages of the race.

In an interesting tussle in the Sports Category, it was Kevin Muscat who finished first in 48:44. He was followed by newcomer George Naudi and Ray Galea.

Stephania Magri completed her 18.6km distance in a creditable time of 1:09.50.