Jonathan Darmanin claims Mountain Bike National Downhill Championships victory

Downhill Mountain Biking is an against-the-clock sport which is highly technical and is essentially an individual time trial. Riders are required to take part in an hour of qualifying runs in order to qualify for the appropriate category.

The recently held championships in Selmun provided seventeen riders with a fast flowing trail full of natural berms and small jumps. The terrain was made further difficult due to the heavy rainfall that preceded race day. This made for a more technical course which required a good degree of experience and precision in order to bring the qualifying time as low as possible.

The best qualifying time was registered by Damian Camilleri who led the rest of the elite riders which included Jonathan Darmanin,  Robert Magro, Damian Camilleri, Luca Grixti and  Darrell Fiorini.

The race for the win was decided by the breath of a whisker with the top three riders registering the same time, with only split seconds separating each other. In the end the podium was taken up by Jonathan Darmanin, Robert Magro and Damian Camilleri who took first, second and third place respectively

The fast paced action of the race meant that a large crowd of spectators thronged the race course cheering and encouraging the riders as they zipped past them.

"The Mountain Bike season has now come to an end for 2019.  Downhill racing has proven to be a very popular spectator sport, which is great for the riders to showcase their skills. We now look forward to 2020 season, for which preparations are already well in progress" - Pierre Zammit Endrich, President Malta Mountain Bike Association.