Days before competing in the Tour ta’ Malta, Etienne Bonello of Team Greens was in top form winning the overall classification of the Tour of Cyprus. Together with his Team Greens team mates he travelled to Cyprus after concluding the 850km six stage Tour of Algeria.
Bonello fired from the start with a second place in the first stage which took the riders from Nicosia to Larnaca. On the second day Bonello prevailed on the nine km hill top finish to Lefkara.
The stage win gained him the race leadership.
Into the final leg from Limassol to Paphos, Bonello was challenged by his close contenders from Israel, Dubai, Greece and Belgium however with the full Team Greens protecting their leader, they fended off all opposition with Bonello managing another second place in the third and final stage winning the Tour of Cyprus in a total time of 3:41:45.
Gil Kivetz of Team Bike Focus of Israel finished second in 3:42:36 while Steffen Streich, of Team Spesialistes Chios-Lesvos of Greece, finished in third place in 3:42:49.
Christian Formosa managed a fourth placing despite racing in support of Bonello. Bonello’s team mates’ hard work was also rewarded as Team Greens won the teams classification. They were followed by Ledig Erf of Belgium and Team Frenkies of Dubai.
Marie Claire Aquilina rode to a third place overall in the female category. The winning team was composed of Etienne Bonello, Bernhard Azzopardi, James Mifsud, Marie Claire Aquilina and guest rider Christian Formosa with the backup support of Team Greens Manager, Charles Sammut.
Bonello is an athlete supported by the KMS 20/20 scheme. The trip was made possible with the assistance of Emirates Airlines, Greens Supermarket and BBB Bike Parts.