Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/804561
21 Sport ATHLETICS maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 29 MARCH 2017 Birkirkara St. Joseph Triathlete Keith Galea strikes first international win for 2017 in Mazara del Vallo BIRKIRK AR A St. Joseph Triathlete and Malta Na- tional Champion Keith Galea recently claimed his first international victory for 2017 following his par- ticipation in the first Satiro Sprint Duathlon held in Mazara del Vallo in the Re- gion of Trapani in Sicily. The Sprint Duathlon con- sisted of a 5km run around the historical town of Mazara, a 20km cycle on the promenade of San Vito and finished off with another 2.5km Run. Whilst weather conditions were relatively good, the prevailing winds on the bike made this seg- ment of the race challenging for the athletes. From the start Galea set the pace with only Mario Giordano (Multisport Cata- nia) challenging him on the 5k run. Entering together into the first transition Giordano and Galea went onto the bike course togeth- er opening a gap from the rest of the field. A tactical decision not to attack but keep working with Giordano and ensure an attack on the run worked well for Galea when he left the second transition leading the race. Although Giordano was hot on Galea's heels, his efforts were not enough to beat Galea, who at 100m away from the finish line gave one final sprint to win the race in 59 minutes eight seconds. This was Galea's second win of the season and the first one on foreign soil. "This race was a very tac- tical one, whilst I would normally go all out on the bike leg to widen the gap, this time around I was fully aware that I was not in my usual top form – neverthe- less I am very satisfied with my performance and it was great racing such a race" commented Galea after the race." I am grateful for the support I receive from a number of entities, in par- ticular SportMalta for fund- ing this race and for the Flexi Training Scheme, my coaches Ivan Rozhnov and Dermot Galea, nutritionist Johanna Galea and sponsors w w w . g a r m i n m a l t a . c o m , BBB Cycling Malta, Jaycee Malta, Saracino Café, Scott Bikes, Starbene 24/7, Team Barry Malta International Challenge Marathon, Lucida Laundry, emvigee PR & Mar- keting, his Club Birkirkara St Joseph, the Malta Triath- lon Federation and the Mal- tese Olympic Committee for their constant support". Galea's next international commitment will be the Triathlon European Cham- pionships in Kitzbühel in June.