Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/718140
22 maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 24 AUGUST 2016 Sport ATHLETICS FORMULA 1 Bonello Spiteri and Alan Borg crowned National Champions FOR the second year running, Agones SFC organised the Na- tional Cross-Triathlon Cham- pionship under the auspices of the Malta Triathlon Federation. Cross-Triathlon is a multisport event which consists of offroad cycling and running segments. This year, the event was spon- sored by Garmin Malta and supported by Mochika Outdoor Life. The championship was held at Xgħajra on Sunday 7 August. The wind in the previous hours filled the sea with a swell that was not deemed unsafe for the participants and thus the race was turned into a Duathlon of 1.6KM run, 20KM cycle and 5KM final run. It was last year's champion, Shaun Galea who wrapped up the first run in the fastest time, but unfortunately for him the bike segment was plagued with technical problems which slowed him down. On the other hand, Alan Borg and Ackerly Hi- li stood up together leading the race for most of the cycling seg- ment and they rushed off for the final run in an almost identical time. However, Alan Borg was on fire on the day and he pushed back Hili's challenge by a spec- tacular second run whcih saw him winning the race and con- quering his first ever National Championship. Hili held on to second place while Joseph Galea managed third place. Last year's winner, Shaun Galea, could not obtain better than the 4th place. In the women's race, Danica Bonello Spiteri dominated from start to finish, in all three sec- tors of the race and she finished well in front of the second- placed Lara Buttigieg who had to mitigate problems on the bike to finish the race. Donia Micallef was third after good runs. Joseph Zammit and Patrick Scicluna teamed up to win the Relay-Teams competition on the day. Immediately after the race, Alan Borg was jubiliant after his first ever National title. 'I sim- ply had the perfect race today, and I felt strong and confident throughout. After the first run, I joined the leading pack and con- tended the leg with Ackerly Hili who was also very strong on the offroad course. Winning the ti- tle was very emotional to me af- ter so many hard work and sacri- fices' said Borg. He thanked his coach Danica and all the team, and more importantly his fam- ily and relatives. Bonello Spiteir also reacted on the same line as Borg and stated that 'I made an effort not to start too fast on the first run. On the bike course, I was doing really well but had a puncture after just 4 kilometres. I managed to remain focused and was feeling very confident due to fact that I have improved a lot on the technical aspect late- ly. I was also very happy for my team mates, Alan Borg and Lara Buttigieg for their important re- sults', said Bonello Spiteri. In conjunction with the Malta Youth Triathlon Academy-MY- TA, kids and youth cross-coun- try races were held on the same morning. Max Spiteri Fiteni and Julienne Woods topped the Un- der 9 Category, while Kai Azzo- pardi and Viola Banyai won the Under 11 race. The Youth race saw Thomas Woods and Char- lotte Spencer were first in while the Junior race was won by Nikol Micallef and Callie Hock. The organising club of Agones SFC thanked the Malta Triath- lon Federation for its support, Medcomms Malta, agents of Garmin for sponsoring the race and Mochika Outdoor Life for supporting the event. Danica Bonello Spiteri and Alan Borg : National Cross-Triathlon Champions 2016 Sauber signs Verstappen's former engineer SAUBER has confirmed the ap- pointment of Xevi Pujolar as its new Head of Track Engineering. Pujolar has worked for several Formula 1 teams during his ca- reer and most recently acted as Max Verstappen's race engineer at Toro Rosso, departing the team following this year's Rus- sian Grand Prix. Pujolar started at Sauber's headquarters in Hinwil at the end of the summer break, and will officially carry out the role from next month's Singapore Grand Prix, which marks the start of the final f lyaway se- quence. Paul Russell, Chief Race En- gineer on an interim basis, will return to Head of Performance Integration. Sauber, which has struggled financially over recent Formula 1 seasons, recently announced a change of ownership, with Swiss-based investment firm Longbow Finance fully acquir- ing the group. Xevi Pujolar Hamilton expecting more 'ups and downs' LEWIS Hamilton says he ex- pects more "ups and downs" over the second half of the season, though is entering this week- end's Belgian Grand Prix full of confidence. Hamilton trailed Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg by 43 points after the Spanish Grand Prix, but entered the break 19 points clear after six wins in sev- en races. Hamilton, pushing for a fourth championship, and third in suc- cession, hopes to continue where he left off as Formula 1 returns to action at Spa-Francorchamps. "It's crazy how quickly this year is going by," said Hamilton. "It seems like a few weeks ago we were in Barcelona for winter testing and now we're through the summer break, heading to Spa. "The first half of the season was a bit of a rollercoaster, so it's great to be in the position I'm in with more than half of the races behind us. "There will be more up and downs to come, I'm sure. But the way myself and the team have performed so far gives me huge confidence. "I'm feeling refreshed, re-en- ergised and ready to go after a fun few weeks off, so hopefully everyone else has had a good rest too and we'll come out fighting. "Spa is a great track – one that every driver enjoys. "It was great to finally get back on the top step there last year, so fingers crossed I'll be able to have another strong race this time around." Hamilton is keen to add to a summer of success for Great Britain, after its record-breaking performance at the Rio Olym- pic Games, and Cal Crutchlow's maiden MotoGP win. "It's been such a proud few weeks for British sport, with the Olympics and then Cal Crutch- low becoming the first British MotoGP winner in more than 30 years," he added. "I'll do my best to keep the f lag [Union Jack] f lying this week- end."