Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/954081
maltatoday WEDNESDAY 14 MARCH 2018 Sport 20 SPORTTODAY CYCLING Fast pace, interesting tactics reign at the Mosta AF Sign Studio Cycling Club Road Race PHOTOGRAPHY BY ANGIE CONTI MOSTA AF Sign Studio Cycling Club welcomed nearly hundred competitors at their annual Żebbuġ Road Race on Sunday. The competitive element was very clear with many cyclists vy- ing for placings on their respec- tive category podiums. All in all it was a fast race laced with some very interesting tactics. Race proceedings kicked off with the Under 12 category, mostly represented by mem- bers of the Mosta Cycling Club Academy. Cyclists had one lap of 4.5kms, with the boys' podium made up of Miguel Galea (Team Greens), Isaac Bonnici (Agones SFC) and Adam Camilleri (Mo- sta CC). The girls' podium was an all Mosta CC team composed of Loralie Zammit, Martina Darmanin Tedesco and Anna Panzariu . Some good performances were registered in the Juniors, Under 14, and Under 16 Categories. Under 16 – (45km) – All Mosta Cycling Club podium, with Nikol Micallef registering a solo victo- ry followed by Sean Enriquez and Sean Michael Darmanin. Under 14 boys – (18km) – Mat- thew Galea Pirotta (Mosta CC) broke off the group on the sec- ond lap winning solo over Ga- briel Bonnici (Agones SFC ) and Tristan Aquilina (Mosta CC) Under 14 Girls – (18km) – Kris- tina Spiteri (The Cyclist) solo victory over Mosta CC cyclists Justine Degiorgio and Bettina Falzon. Juniors – (72km) – Isaac Spiteri (The Cyclist) uncontested win- ner in category when B'Kara St. Joseph's Gianluca Camilleri had to stop half way in the race: Elite – The Elite Category saw all local cycling clubs being rep- resented. The 22 lap circuit of approximately 99km, saw a breakaway attempt by Serbian Nebojsa Srcmac (The Cyclist) being closed down by Mosta's Gerard Said, however Srcmac's second attempt, this time with team mate Graham Borg, was successful enabling him to keep the lead until the very end. On the 50km mark, cyclists from the Mosta Club gave a shot at trying to close the 1 minute 30 second gap but an unfortunate crash suffered by Nicholas Micallef put paid to their valiant attempts. With Srcmac and Borg finishing the race in first and second place respectively, it all boiled down to a sprint finish for third place, when Maurice Formosa (The Cyclist) outsprinted Etienne Bonello (Team Greens) to the podium. Masters 40+ (54Km) - The top athletes in this Category consist- ed of a smaller troop from the Elite group, who remained com- pact and ended in a sprint finish by a margin of .07 of a second won by Patrick Scicluna (Mosta CC) over Ivan Zammit (B'Kara St. Joseph) and Antoine Sultana (The Cyclist) in 3rd. Masters 50+ (45km) Similarly, this category remained compact throughout the race – with all Mosta CC cyclists taking po- dium places. The category was marked by Mark Schembri's comeback after an absence of two years in competitive cycling. Schembri's fine form saw him outsprint team mates, Michael Lia and Steve Mifsud. Ladies (67Km) – This catego- ry saw good participation and new faces. Marie Claire Aqui- lina (Team Greens) continued to show her prowess and rode solo to victory over teammates Mi- chelle Vella Wood and Danica Bonello Spiteri. "The success of today's race was not just marked by the large amount of competitors, but also from the levels of particiatpion and performances our Academy cyclists registered. This shows that the Club's strategy to build the sport and develop tomor- row's cyclists is bearing fruit," enthused Edward Enriquez of Mosta AF Sign Studio Cycling Club "This race also marked a very emotional day for our Club as one of our members, Emma- nuel Camilleri, took part in his last road race, having decided to retire after an illustrious fifty year career on the circuit and having ridden and raced both for our Club and at National Team Level". Mosta AF Sign Studio Cycling Club would like to show its gratitude to all participating Clubs, club sponsors, marshals, the Malta Police – traffic sec- tion, Qormi Police, medical staff and ambulance from Global Security, Transport Malta, and Zebbug Local Council. Emanuel Camilleri - retiring after 50 years on the circuit