The Maltese national team produced promising results at the recent UCI World Cycling Tour (UWCT) races in Crete.

The six riders making the team managed to qualify for the UWCT World Championships which will take place in the end of August in Pietermaritzburg in South Africa.

The race programme consisted of a 25km time trial and a 118km road race on the outskirts of the city of Chania.

The Maltese riders proved to be firing on all cylinders in the time trial with national champion Etienne Bonello riding to third place overall and first in the 30-34 age-group category.

Christopher Gatt and Maurice Formosa finished second and third in the same category filling all the steps of the podium.  Steve Sciberras obtained a third place in the 16-29 age bracket whilst Christian Formosa rode to sixth place. David Galea was fifth in the 40-44 category.

The 118km road race also raised some brows with Gatt riding to 13th place overall and third in category, Formosa and Bonello scored fifth and sixth place in the same category.

In the 16-29 age-group Christian Formosa managed a seventh place while Sciberras finished 14th. David Galea concluded his race in the 40-44 bracket in seventh place.

The President of the Malta Cycling Federation John Zammit had words of praise for the results obtained by the Maltese cyclists. ‘These results reflect the tremendous commitment and dedication shown by these riders in thissport. Cycling is not an easy sport and I can be only proud of what they have achieved. We will work harder to be competitive in the world championships in South Africa.’ concluded Zammit after the team’s return from Crete. The trip was made possible through funds allocated by the MOC in preparation for the GSSE Games in Luxembourg next year.