Last Sunday mountain bike racing resumed with the second round of the national points series, which was held at Mizieb.

The race turned exciting from the first kilometres as Mark Bonnici took the front at a strong pace.

All race contenders followed his wheel while several progressions by Clive Ebejjer, Jason Vella, Maurice Formosa, Jeffrey Borg and Etienne Bonello took place. Jason Vella was once again foiled by a mechanical mishap which made him lose any chances of a positive result.

Into the second lap Ebejer, Fomrosa , Bonnci and Bonello lead the race as they marked each other very closely. Bonello suffered a flat tyre which forced him to slow down and loose the front runners.

Back in the race Ebejer and Bonnici pulled away from Formosa and joined forces to the finish as Ebejer edged Bonnici on the line in 1:14:16.

Bonello had to settle for third after a terrific chase following a wheel change one minute down on the winners. The challenge for the national points series has now intensified with Bonello and Ebejer sharing the same number of points.

Marie Claire Aquilina was the outright winner of the ladies category followed by Vineta Pettel of Latvia.

Owen Ciantar took his second consecutive win in the sports category.

The third round of the national points series will be held on 27 February at Delimara. For further information one may visit www.maltamountainbike.com