Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/798939
21 THE second race of the BDO Malta Cross Country National Point Series is set to continue on Sunday 19th March in Mġarr. Whilst the first race in Miżieb saw cyclists having to contend with a muddy playground, the next race will probably see cy- clists having to tackle quite a dusty track following the recent dry spell. The 4.5km Mgarr circuit offers cyclists a breathtakingly scenic coastal ridge characterised by rough and rocky terrain and a few hair raising technical drops with the unique Gnejna as a backdrop. As was the case for the first race, cyclists will be split into five Categories – Elite – 6 laps, Ladies, Open, Masters - (4 laps) and Juniors – (3 laps). A number of foreign cyclists are expected to join the fold on Sunday. The Race will start at 8:00am sharp and the first finishers are expected to cross the line at around 9:15am. The 2017 Cross Country Series is being supported by BDO Mal- ta and by Magri Cycles, Carm & Co Ltd (SIS products) and Island Beverages (H20nly). For the Association's latest news and calendar of events, please visit - http://www.malta- mountainbike.org.mt and Face- book and Instagram pages. Alter- natively contact the Association on info@maltamountainbike. org.mt Sport CYCLING maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 15 MARCH 2017 BDO Malta Cross Country National Point Series set to continue in Mgarr Top billing for Mosta AF Sign Studio Cyclists in Zebbug THE recently held mass start cy- cling race, hosted by Mosta AF Sign Studio Club and held under the auspices of the Malta Cycling Federation, on the Zebbug By Pass attracted a good spread of partici- pants in eight categories and top biling for the Club's cyclists. In the Under 12's categories, eleven athletes undertook one lap (4.5km) of the course. Miguel Galea (Team Greens) crossed the line first in the boy's category whilst Jaeken Galea (Mosta CC) came in second followed by team mate and the Club's Academy most promising athlete Jonas Mi- callef,. In the girls category Justine Degiorgio crossed the line first (winning also the overall) followed by Hannah Dandria and Valentina Soler. All athletes form part of the Mosta Club. The Under 15's Boys podium was dominated by the Mosta club's athletes after having completed three laps (13.5km) of the course. Sean Enriquez emerged the win- ner following an extremely close finish with Nikol Micallef. Mal- colm Vassallo came in third place. In the Masters 40+ category Ivan Zammit (B'Kara SJ) clinched an uncontested first place. A sprint finish for second place was won by Domenic Cutajar (Gozo Cycling Club) followed by Matthew Mira- belli (Mosta CC) in third. In the Masters 60+ category it was an uncontested solo ride for Emanuel Camilleri who complet- ed the 10 lap course in a respect- able time of 1:12'18, whilst in the Masters 50+ veteran Nicky Far- rugia (Mosta CC) took first place followed Michael Lia (Mosta CC) and Steve Mifsud (The Cyclist) In the Ladies' Category, Nation- al Team and Mosta Club cyclist Marion Pullicino saw her claim her first ever victory in this cat- egory for the Club. She was fol- lowed by Margaret Seguna (The Cyclist) and Michelle Vella Wood (Team Greens). An accident mid- way through the race saw Marie Claire Aquilina and Stephanie Al- den retiring. In the Juniors category, Nicho- las Attard Montaldo (The Cyclist) continued to show his strength by edging away from his team mate Isaac Spiteri whilst Gian- luca Camilleri (B'Kara SJ) came in third place. In the Elite category, spectators were in for a nailbiting spectacle that would ultimately result in a photo finish. With cyclists vying for an early breakaway in order to anticipate the group and avoid a sprint fin- ish, a midway attack saw Mark Micallef (The Cyclist) & Michael Camilleri (Team Greens) try to breakaway together with Nicholas Micallef (Mosta CC) thus kicking off some tense action. Eventually the the trio were caught up by the fast moving peloton. The action did not stop there as other various attacks were thwarted by a very attentive pack of Mosta cyclists who counteracted well for attacks and worked towards enabling Pierre Borg win the race for the second year running. Borg's de- termined performance resulted in a photo finish with Christian For- mosa (The Cyclist). Third place was clinched by Steve Sciberras (B'Kara SJ) "Sunday was a good day for the Club, apart from the race being well attended, the Club featured well and truly on the podiums and it was great to see some very stra- tegic and tactical team work by our cyclists which enabed Pierre Borg to win the Elite Category for another year running" com- mented enthusiastically Edward Enriquez, Mosta AF Sign Cycling Club Secretary. "The Club is also particularly is grateful to all par- ticipants, coaches, marshals, race officials, ARRTS time keepers, Żebbuġ Local Council, Malta Cycling Federation, Qormi Po- lice Station, Malta Traffic Police, Transport Malta and the Global Security Malta who provided medical services for their assis- tance throughout the race. . The Club's next racing appoint- ment will be at the Tour of Cyprus, which will be a three stage tour between the 24th & 26th March. Club Cyclists Patrick Scicluna, Gerrard Said, Nicholas Micallef and Marion Pullicino, who forms part of the Ladies National Team, will be joining the rest of the Na- tional Team for this outing.