Young Roderick Muscat won Malta’s first medal in these Games early yesterday afternoon when he finished third in the individual time-trial.

Malta’s other competitor, Jackie Schiavone, who had been considered among the favourites, could only finish a distant eighth in the 18 km race held over four laps in the heart of the city.

There were 21 participants from seven countries taking part, as Cyprus did not contest this year’s event.

Muscat was the 14th to take off and it was evident from the start that the Maltese boy would be having a great time, confirming that he is in form and proving that the association’s decision to have him instead of Treacy for this event was right.

At the end, he clocked 25.51.10 which put him in provisional second place, behind Luxembourg’s great favourite Triebel Pasqual.

However, in the final session, another Luxembourg cyclist, Laurent Didier, moved into first place ahead of his compatriot as he clocked 25 minutes 21.05 seconds to grab the gold from Pasqual. It also unfortunately meant that Muscat had to be content with bronze instead of the silver medal.

Schiavone was the first of the two Maltese to get into action. In fact he was third on the starting grid as the cyclists took off with a two-minute gap.

At the end of the fourth lap, Schiavone clocked 26 minutes 49.969 seconds saying that he was happy with his performance but obviously not at all happy with the tough gruelling course which included a 2-km uphill climb.

At the end of the race, Muscat said he was happy with the medal. “It is a big boost for cycling in Malta. I knew that I stood a chance even if we were aware all along about the strength of the Luxembourg cyclists. However, I was prepared for it and I gave my all. At the end it paid off with the bronze medal," he said.

Schiavone also said he thought he had a good performance. “It was a tough course, one of the toughest ever I have encountered. The time was not my best definitely, but I feel I gave my one hundred per cent," he said.

Coach Roy Chamberlain was very happy with his boys’performance, especially that of Muscat which landed a third place on the podium. “They did very well. We knew that Luxembourg had a strong quartet but both Muscat and Schiavone tackled the course well on the day," he said.

Cycling Association official Austin Camilleri said the results were very encouraging and Muscat’s medal was certainly deserving after the youngster’s excellent performance. “We had two cyclists and one of them finished on the podium.

Luxembourg had four cyclists and hoped to scoop all the three medals. But we beat them to the bronze and that gives us a lot of satisfaction.

Moreover, after David Millar’s gold in San Marino, Muscat has become the first Maltese to win a cycling medal in these Games," he said.