NATIONAL POINT SERIES ROUND ONE PEMBROKE
The Mountain Bike Season kicked off last Sunday with the traditional season opener race in Pembroke.
Under a near perfect sunny wintery day the riders raced from the start, a few metres away from the BMX track down to the Pembroke ranges, a circuit which is characterised by rocky terrain with technical downhills and leg breaking uphill single tracks. Different categories were held to cater for various biking abilities with the Elite category fielding Malta’s top bikers. From the start Gerard Said took the lead as he set off to the first downhill in a frantic pace, He was followed closely by Maurice Formosa, Mark Bonnici, Etienne Bonello and Clive Ebejer. It was Formosa that took the lead in the first climb with Bonello and Bonnici hot on his wheel. Said suffered his initial effort and lost some ground on the leading trio, with Ebejer following closely. The three front runners kept a solid pace as this set an interesting challenge for the overall win. It proved to be an unfortunate day for current national champion Bonello who suffered mechanical problems which forced him to stop often to fix a twisted chain. Formosa, who showed to have winning form dropped Bonnici to cruise to victory in 0:51:53. Bonnici crossed the line 2 minutes behind Formosa. Ebejjer was third in 54:22, with Bonello managing to finish the race in 4th place despite the chain problem. In the Sports Category it was the day for Jeffrey Borg who produced an excellent race; he was followed by Owen Ciantar and Antwan Mugliett. Marie Claire Aquilina showed some good mountain bike ability as she cruised to victory ahead of Triathlon champion Danica Bonello Spiteri in her Mountain bike debut.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
The Malta Mountain Bike Association will be holding its annual general
meeting on Monday 25th January 2010 at the Green Grove Guest house at
8:30pm.
You are invited to attend this meeting.
Agenda
Minutes of Meeting
Administrative report
Financial report
Election for new committee
open discussion
registration for racing season
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
Cross Country National Points Series Round Five - Dellimara - 19/04/09
Round Five of the Mountain Bike Cross Country National Points series took place last Sunday in Dellimara. The 4.8 km route which is reknowed for its leg breaking 10% climb and its fast technical downhill featured 8 times for the elite riders who are seeking qualification for the GSSE. From the start it was Gerard Said (Qormi) who took the lead into the initial climb, followed closely by Etienne Bonello (Corratec - Team Greens) and Maurice Formosa (Melita Pedal Power). Bonello and Formosa managed to drop Said by the top and kept the solid pace to maintain this lead. Said, David Galea
(Qormi), Jason Muscat, Clive Ebejer, Mark Bonnici (Melita) and James Dimech (Mosta AF Sign Studio) formed the group of the chasers as they combined their forces to try and reel in the Bonello-Formosa Tandem who was making
ground. The duo shared the pace in front however a fresher Bonello upped the pace in the fourth lap to drop Formosa. He cruised to victory in 1:36:28. Formosa suffered a deficit of 2 minutes over Bonello as he finished second in 1:38:30. Mean while back in the race Galea suffered technical problems and had to abandon his race for third place as Ebejer passed to finish third in 1:42:36.
In the ladies race, Marie Claire Aquilina rode to an optimum performance, however she lost precious time when she was involved in an accident with another rider. UK based Stephania Magri also took her chance in qualifying as she produced a promising performance despite recovering from illness.
Present at the race was director of Sport Mark Cutajar who was monitoring the race progress and making his evaluations.
A third and qualifying race will be held this Saturday afternoon on the same venue at 2:30pm
So far Etienne Bonello, Maurice Formosa and Marie Claire Aquilina have reached the pre-set qualifying time as they start their final preparations with a number of competitions in Sicily.
Cross Country National Points Series Round Four - Mizieb - 05/04/09
The fourth round of the cross country national point series took place last Sunday in Mizieb. The seven laps 42.7km race circuit offered the participants a difficult challenge through its inclinations, loose terrain and technical sections. This was the first qualification race valid for GSSE selection. With such an important race the elite riders stormed out of the starting line with NPS leader Etienne Bonello of Corratec-Team Greens taking the lead and setting the pace in the first Kilometres. Hot on his wheel were David Galea, Ramon Grech and Gerard Said of Qormi KIA together with Clive Ebejer and Jason Muscat. It was Said that upped the tempo half way through the first lap as Bonello followed closely as they both opened a lead. They shared the pace to increase their advantage as they cruised through the first lap with the immediate chasers at a close distance. Bonello proved to be on a good day as he manged to drop Said in the second lap and hammer onto the pedals to increase his lead clocking himself each lap to ride to a new national course record in 1:38:17. Back in the race Said was chased down by the Muscat, Galea & Ebejer while Grech had to abandon the race due to a mechanical mishap. The four riders raced each other for the remaining laps and their finish was bound to be determined by a final sprint. A surprise for Ebejer and for the people watching, as he managed to out smart the more experienced rivals and clinch the second place in 1:42:50 followed by Said in 1:42:56. Muscat was fourth in 1:53:00 and Galea fifth in 1:53:06.
Despite being the only lady in the race Marie Claire Aquilina of Team Greens came up with a record breaking performance clocking the 30.5km in 1:19:48.
The next GSSE qulifying race will be held on Sunday 19th April at Dellimara.
Cross Country National Points Series Round Three - Dellimara - 22/02/09
Round three of the Mountain Bike Cross Country National Points series took place last Sunday in Dellimara. The race was organised by the Malta mountain Bike Association. The 4.8 km route which is reknowed for its leg breaking 10% climb and its fast technical downhill feautred a number of times for the different categories. The Elite riders had to ride the course 7 times as they started off in a frantic pace up the first climb with David Galea (Qormi KIA) and Etienne Bonello (Corratec - Team Greens) racing each other to open a lead by the top. The two proceeded in this action however they were chased down by Gerard Said (Qormi KIA), Ramon Grech (Qormi KIA), Jason Muscat & Maurice Formosa (Melita Pedal Power). A dangerous counter attack by Muscat who opened an immediate lead let the others watch as he passed swiftly in front. However experienced Bonello rode wisely to real the leading rider with a constant progression with Said managing to keep on his pace. As the duo caught up Muscat, it was Bonello who timed the decisive move as he attacked just before the final downhill of the first lap. He took the lead as he pedalled hard to the finish area and up to the subsequent half a kilometer 10% climb. Muscat and Said were on his chase as Muscat suffered puncture problems and had to abandon the race some time later. Said continued with his pace while from behind Maurice Formosa was making a comeack into the race after a bike change due to a pedal problem. Bonello struggled in his solo breakaway and managed to arrive to the finish with a 1:45 minute lead. Meanwhile Said lost ground as he skid on a tricky turn while Formosa retained the second spot to the finish in 1:29:09. Ramon Grech concluded his race in third place in 1:29:36 while Said had to settle for the fourth spot in 1:32:25. David Galea clocked 1:32:52 to finish fifth. Later on Formosa was disqualified due to the illegal bike change. Marie Claire Aquilina raced against the clock to finish her race in 1:17:45. Mark Vella, Norman Pace and Harold Psaila were the first three in the Sports Category. In the meantime Bonello, Said, Formosa, Grech , Clive Ebejer & Aquilina will be taking part in the Afxentia MTB stage race in Cyprus this weekend. The 3 stage race will be held on the same course of the GSSE. Olympic medalists and other top european riders are expected to be present at this international season opener race. The Maltese riders are expected to inspect and practice the course in order to determine the best equipment choice especially tyres and suspension setups in view of the forthcoming GSSE games
Cross Country National Points Series Round Two - Mizieb - 10/02/09
The second round of the cross country national point series took place on the 10th February in Mizieb. The six laps around the race circuit offered the participants a difficult challenge through its inclinations, loose terrain and technical sections. The same route will be used later on to hold one of the qualification races for the selection of riders to take part in the GSSE games in Cyprus. The main elite race offered an exciting show to the numerous viewers who gathered on the course. From the word go Jason Muscat dashed out of the starting line to gain the first position in the first single track section. He was closely monitored by David Galea who took the lead a bit later. Ramon Grech, Gerard Said, Maurice Formosa and Etienne Bonello followed closely the front runners. However it was Bonello who made a decisive move to split this group apart. He attacked in the final climb of the first lap were he opened a dangerous lead. Muscat was on his chase a few meters behind while Galea, Formosa and Said followed next. Bonello proved to have good legs as he hammered down on the pedals to increase his lead clocking himself each lap to ride to a new National course record in 1:24:11. A pace which would have qualified him for Gsse had the race distance been a lap longer. In the meantime Muscat cruised to Second place in 1:27:25 also in a qualifying pace. David Galea finish third in 1:30:04. Said was in fourth spot while Formosa and Grech had to retire from the race due to an accident. A commendable effort was made by Junior rider James Dimech who wholeheartidly has joined in the elite battle for a place in Team Malta. Dominic Cutajar flies the flag for Gozo as his times improve in every race. Marie Claire Aquilina was the only female in the race however she was far from being slow as she clocked a qualifying pace.
Harold Psaila was first in the sports category followed by Alan Chetcuti and Mark Xerri
The next race will be held in Dellimara on Sunday 22nd February. Later this month the National team will visit Cyprus to visualise the proposed track which will be used for GSSE. The team will also compete in a world class international event on the same course.
____________________________________________________________________________
Mountain Bike Season Kicks off in Pembroke - Riders seeking GSSE Qualification - 18/01/09
The Mountain Bike racing season kicked off last Sunday with the first round of the National Points Series in Pembroke.The race attracted a record number of participants in the Elite category who are seeking qualification for next June's GSSE games in Cyprus. The race organised by the Malta Mountain Bike Association consisted of 10 laps round a 3.5 km route which featured technical downhills and single tracks on rocky & loose terrain. Typical of a mountain bike race the start was very fast with riders racing each other to obtain the leading positions in the first downhill. Jason Muscat took the lead from the start, followed closely by National Champion Etienne Bonello, The rest of the 15 men strong pack followed down the winding rocky descent. Muscat persisted on his action up the returning climb as Bonello took the lead with Maurice Formosa, David Galea and Gerard Said hot on his wheel. By the top of the hill Bonello opened a slight gap which he took advantage of in the subsequent lap. He kept a solid pace to increase his lead and win the race in 1:25:16. Back in the race, Jason Muscat had trouble with his bike's saddle and had to throw the towel in half way through the race. Ramon Grech was making a comeback after he sustained a puncture in the initial lap, he managed to reel down the chasing riders, launch an attack and open a gap. Grech cruised strongly to finish second in 1:30:38. David Galea was third in 1:33:42 followed by Gerard Said and Maurice Formosa. The next moutain bike race will be held on Tuesday 10th February at Mizieb.
____________________________________________________________________________
GSSE Cyprus 2009
Minimum Qualifying Standard
MEN
7 laps Mizieb 42.7km = 1:42
8 laps Dellimara 38.4km = 1:42
LADIES
5 laps Mizieb 30.5km = 1:28
6 laps Dellimara 28.8km = 1:28
____________________________________________________________________________
MEDITERRENEAN FRIENDSHIP GAMES
CROSS COUNTRY RACE
SATURDAY 3RD MAY 2008
PEMBROKE - 10:0AM
CATEGORIES:
ELITE - 10LAPS 34KM
LADIES - 6 LAPS 20.4KM
MASTERS/SPORTS/JUNIORS - 6 LAPS
MALTA SELECTION RIDERS
ELITE: ETIENNE BONELLO , RAMON GRECH
LADIES: STEPHANIA MAGRI, MARIE CLAIRE AQUILINA
OFFICIALS: PIERRE ZAMMIT ENDRICH, STEPHEN CAMILLERI
