Europe Triathlon

The Malta Triathlon Federation kicked off the 2014 multisport season with a hard-fought, drama-filled triathlon race on Sunday 30 March. The race started with a 1.5K swim in the cold waters of the Rinella Bay, followed by a 39K highly-technical and challenging cycle in Kalkara, and finished with a tough 10K run in the spectacular Laguna at SmartCity Malta.

The main reason for this race was for the Federation to assess the level of fitness of its National Team Members and to test their abilities on a challenging and demanding course which aimed to mimic as much as possible the racing conditions that the athletes will face in their possible participation at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow this summer.

The male race was dominated from the start by Malta Triathlon Champion, Keith Galea who exited out of the waters first, closely followed by Graham Borg. Borg managed to stay close to Galea for the duration of the cycle, but then in the run Galea had no opposition whatsoever and concluded the race more than five minutes ahead of Borg. Rudolph Agius held on to third place, while evergreen David Galea clinched the fourth spot and won the Seniors category with an impressive second fastest run from the whole pack, while Ryan Saliba had a very positive performance winning the Under 23 category.

In the women’s pursuit, the drama was as high as the stakes at play. Danica Bonello-Spiteri and Hannah Pace held together for the full distance of the swim and wrapped up a strong swim together. Bonello Spiteri’s strength and power on the wheels and an unfortunate crash by Pace opened a gap between the two. As Pace soldiered on and picked up the pace again, Bonello Spiteri inadvertently missed a lap on the cycle, and even though she finished with an impressive run, Pace was left unchallenged to win the race with Michelle Vella Wood trailing two minutes behind, after a positive running leg. Margaret Seguna was third home. Suzanne Farrugia won the Female Seniors Category.

Commenting after the race, Cyprian Dalli, president of the Malta Triathlon Federation stated that “this race has been of a very complex nature to organise, however with the support of many entities, authorites, sponsors and volunteers, the Malta Triathlon Federation managed to put up a brilliant show, complimented by some fine performances by our athletes. Having this high-level of racing at this time of the year augurs very well for the upcoming triathlon season.”

The next race organised by the Malta Triathlon Federation will be held on 1 of May, on Mdina Road, Żebbuġ, where the National Duathlon Championships will be organised. The race will consist of a run of 8.5Ks, a cycle of 38Ks and a final run of 4.25Ks. There will be a half-distance race for both individual and relay pursuits. The event will be supported by www.trirush.com.