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PEDAL POWER NATIONAL POINTS SERIES ROUND 5 - bonello flies to title victory.. (MMBA PR)
Etienne Bonello regained the National Points Series title after an outstanding performance last weekend at Mizieb.
With one race to go in the Series Bonello has secured his overall lead after winning four races and gaining an unreachable amount of points.
The race at Mizieb was organised by the Malta Mountain Bike Association with the sponsorship of Pedal Power Cycle Shops.
The seven laps around the Mizieb course covered just over 43 kms, a very demanding race with a variety of terrain conditions as well as leg breaking rocky undulations.
The Elite race went into action just a few metres after the start as Bonello showed his intentions with continuous attacks on every incline.
Mark Bonnici, Ishmael Muscat, Ramon Grech answered the attacks, however Bonello was untamable and managed to break loose in the second lap, Muscat suffered a puncture in a counter attack which cost him a placing and had to abandon the race as he could not sort out the problem.
In the meantime Bonello kept his frantic pace till the finish line clocking a record time of 1:39:15. Bonello's excellent racing form managed him to break his own course record he set last year by an impressive eight minutes.
Back in the race Ramon Grech also had puncture problems due to the sharp rocky surface. Gozitan rider Domenic Cutajar who kept a solid race through out the race made a promising step forward in his racing career when he finished second after Bonello in 1:51:06. Mark Bonnici made his way home in third place in 1:52:5
In comments left after the race Bonello said he was really satisfied with his current form and that it is at this time of the year as it was planned, he added that he would be having a breeak from MTB racing for a while to fulfill his commitments with the road racing national team
PEDAL POWER NATIONAL POINTS SERIES ROUND 3 – bonello confirms lead 20/02/05
The third round of the cross-country National point series saw Elite rider Etienne Bonello confirming his excellent form by clinching his third consecutive win of the series.
The race held in the hilly circuit of Dellimara featured a tough challenge to the riders due to the serious technical climbs coupled with the strong westerly winds which increased the difficulty of the race.
The 30km Elite race covered 7 laps around the gruelling circuit with all the main contenders setting a solid pace in the first hill just 50 metres from the start line. Mark Bonnici took the lead followed closely by NPS leader Etienne Bonello and Ishmael Muscat. However Bonello’s technical ability and current excellent form proved to be unbeatable as he forced the pace half way through the climb and opened a small but significant gap. Ishmael Muscat took charge to chase Bonello however the latter insisted in his action although quite early in the race. He managed to increase his lead and made a solo finish to the race in 1:29:11. Muscat concluded in second spot in 1:32:04 as Bonnici lost ground from Muscat as he had problems with the seat post and had to settle for third in 1:39:04. Gozitan riders Domenic Cutajar was fourth in 1:42:28 whilst Ramon Grech had to abandon after being involved in a minor crash.
PEDAL POWER NATIONAL POINTS SERIES- BONELLO TAKES 2ND CONSECUTIVE WIN - 06/02/05
The second round of the Cross-country National Points Series took place last Sunday at Mizieb. This race was held by the Malta Mountain Bike Association and sponsored by Pedal Power. The 6.2km course features very fast loose terrain with a couple of technical undulations.
The elite race which covered 5 laps around the course was battled from the word go. The riders dashed out from the line to gain the first positions by the first uphill. Mark Bonnici (Adidas Eyewear), Ramon Grech, Ishmael Muscat (Pedal Power/Squeezy Gel/Mosta Cycling Club) and Etienne Bonello (NoFear/Cebe/Extran/Centrepoint cycles/Energizer) broke away and marked each other very closely to counter any attacks. Eventually NPS leader Etienne Bonello forced the pace in a technical uphill where he opened a gap on the others with Ramon Grech and Ishmael Muscat on his chase. Bonello’s progression proved to be effective as he forced on his pace and finished the race in 1:11:02 gaining his second consecutive win. Back in the race Muscat opened a small lead on Grech followed by Bonnici and Domenic Cutajar a few hundered metres back. Muscat finished second home 1:16 down on Bonello. Meanwhile Grech suffered a puncture with 2 kms to the finish where all his efforts to solve the problem were unsuccessful as he was overtaken by Bonnici and Cutajar. They finished the race in third and fourth spot respectively in 1:19:08 and 1:19:20. Grech had to settle for fifth spot as he pushed his bike across the line.
Pedal Power National Point Series - Bonello wins opening race - 16/01/05 (Press release by MMBA)
The 2005 mountain biking season kicked off last Sunday with the first cross-country race of the National Points Series, held in Pembroke. This event was organised by the Malta Mountain bike Association with Pedal Power bike shop being the main sponsor. This year there has been some improvements in the various categories, due to different abilities and age groups.
The Pembroke course is quite demanding with a very loose and technical downhill, and an uphill drag just before the finish. It also featured some technical uphill off road paths which made the race even more interesting and leg breaking.
The main Elite race had to cover 6 laps round the course. This race was battled out from the start with a very fast start that saw riders sprinting for the first places, Ishmael Muscat (Pedal power,Sqeezy Gel) managed to break away in the first downhill, followed by Etienne Bonello (NoFear, Cebe, Extran Centrepoint Cycles, Energizer) a few metres behind. Eventually, Bonello neutralised Muscat’s break in the uphill part of the course, and managed to drop Muscat as he forced the pace at the end of the climb. Bonello kept a strong pace till the finish in 49:34. In the meantime, Mark Bonnici (Adidas Eyewear) and Ramon Grech were the immediate chasers of Muscat, A feat which was unsuccessful as Muscat kept the lead over the latter and finished in second spot 1’37” down on Bonello. Grech was third home 58” behind Muscat. Bonnici had to throw the towel after snapping the chain in the fifth lap.
Bonello takes the honours in Cavalese - 25/08/04
Etienne has just returned from a 10 day racing trip in Verona, Italy. he was guest of two time World and European champion Giovanna Bonazzi. After showing excellent form in this year’s summer cup Bonello took part in two cross country races held in the northen regions of Italy. His first race took place in Trentino in the ski resort situated on top of Mount Mondone at 1500metres. The race featured 3 laps around the 13km hilly circuit, the terrain was very loose and dry which made bike handling rather difficult in certain downhill sections. Bonello showed good racing abilities and finished the 40km race in a credible 8th spot in 1hr 41 min. The second race was the Fiemmebike 2004, held in Cavalese on the Alpe Cermis another ski area at 2000mts. The race distance was 22km which including numerous climbs totaling a vertical height gain of 550m. The event was also open for professional riders however these had to cover a longer distance. 2004 XC marathon world champion Massimo deBertolis was amongst the favourites for the pro race. However all riders were staged together making the event even more interesting and challenging. As soon as the start was given and the riders entered the forest roads Bonello found himself a few metres down from the front runners, he struggled to keep his placing all the way up the first 5km climb. At the top, the race lead into a technical downhill single track followed by another 2km climb. At this stage Bonello had to take a turning and get into his respective race route while the pro riders took a different way. Bonello found himself leading the race although closely marked by two Italian riders. The latter eventually reeled in Bonello with two kms to the finish. The leading trio watched each other very closely but Bonello’s road racing tactics proved to be useful when he gave a solid attack on a steep rocky incline. He managed to open a 20metre gap and kept insisting on the pace till the end, where he crossed the line first in 0:47:19 with the lead going up to 2min55sec. This was a remarkable result for Bonello. Bonello has been into mountain bike racing for the last eight years. He has made a name of his own in the local mountain bike scene, winning the national title five times; five summer cups and the majority of point series races. He also races in road competitions to fine-tune his training and gain racing experience. Mountain Biking and road racing complement each other as the former gives you exceptional bike handling skills and power whereas road racing improves endurance, speed and racing tactics. Bonello was also last year’s road race champion and finished runner up in this year’s national championship.
Barilla Mountain Bike Cross-country Summer Cup
Bonello confirms superiority. (press release by MMBA)
The summer cup competitions came to an end last Saturday with the final race at Pembroke Ranges. The three summer cup races were organised by the Malta Mountain Bike Association with the aid of Pasta Barilla as main sponsors. Etienne Bonello (Giant Bicycles, Extran ,Cebe eyewear, No Fear, Energizer) was the overall winner after scoring the highest points in all the three races. He is currently showing an exceptional form as he set record times in all three events. Undoubtly he is the strongest athlete in this cycling discipline. However all the top elite riders have improved their standards as
racing has become faster and riding skills improved radically.
Round two in Dellimara was the toughest of all since the course features steep inclines and fast technical downhills. It was Ishmael Muscat (Pedal Power, Mosta Mapei CC) who forced the pace in the first uphill just a few metres from the start, marked closely by Bonello and Mark Bonnici (Adidas eyewear, Mosta Mapei CC), Muscat’s attempt was neutralised as Bonello forced the pace even more and got the lead immediately after opening a gap till the top of the climb. Bonnici tried to chase down Bonello as Muscat joined in the chase a few minutes later. The two-men chase was not successful as Bonello opened the throttle to finish the race in a record time of 1:11:44. Back in the chasing duo, Muscat dropped Bonnici and finished second 7minutes:48seconds down on the winner. Bonnici had to settle in third spot.
In the final race that of Pembroke Ranges last Saturday Bonello confirmed once again his net superiority by another solid performance and added another win in his books. Claimed as overall summer cup winner for the 5th time consecuively, Muscat and Bonnici finished second and third respectively. In the other categories George Naudi won the sports class with Kevin Muscat and Pierre Zammit Endrich in second place. Stephania Magri was the first lady followed by Marie Claire Aquilina.
The summer cup brings to an end the Mountain Bike Cross-country season. In comments given by the MMBA president following the final event, he said that all in all it was a very successful season and was more than satisfied with the outcome. Riders showed remarkable improvement again this year as racing times are being lowered and average speeds getting higher. He said he is very optimistic for the future and with the GSSE in Andorra round the corner the level of our riders can only get better. In the meantime he took the opportunity to thank all the sponsors for their support as well the other members of the committee and the riders for their consistency, commitment and achievements.
Barilla Summer Cup Round One – Bonello takes early lead (press release by MMBA)
The five laps around the 6.2 km Mizieb course made it no small feat for the riders to cover the total distance of 31Kms under the hot summer sun. The main Elite riders in the race flew from the start with Mark Bonnici setting a fast pace from the word go, followed closely by national champion and defending summer cup winner Etienne Bonello and National Points Series winner Ishmael Muscat. Although these are out of season races the Elite contenders showed no loss of form in fact there was an obvious increase in performance from all the riders as they covered the first lap in a record time despite a minor accident with a dog crossing the riders’ way. On the second lap riders started to loose ground on Bonello who insisted on the already fast tempo of the race and eventually dropped his rivals and cruised to victory in a record time of 1:15:22. Bonnici suffered his early efforts in the race and had to throw the towel in the final lap due to sever dehydration and exhaustion, Muscat overtook Bonnici at the top of the hill in the second and was second home with a 2minutes 6 seconds deficit on Bonello.
The Sports Category also showed an interesting race where Kevin Muscat was first in 48minutes 44seconds followed by new comer George Naudi and Ray Galea in 54:15 and 1:01:28 respectively. Stephania Magri was the only female rider in this race and although on her own she made an all out effort to cover the 18.6 km distance in an encouraging time of 1:09:50 despite puncturing in the first lap. Round two of the Barilla Summer Cup will be held at Dellimara on the 31st July, start 6pm
BONELLO CLAIMS HIS 4th NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP (press release by MMBA) 16/05/04
The toughest and most important race in the local mountain bike calendar, the cross-country national championship was held this weekend at Mizieb. The race was organised by the Malta Mountain Bike Association with the sponsorship of Green Grove Guest House. The event featured seven laps around the Mizieb course covering an olympic distance of 42kms. All the top Elite riders were present for this important meeting. From the start the main contenders watched each other very closely and remained together until defending champion Etienne Bonello attacked in the second lap. This attack made considerable damage to the field as Bonello got loose and kept increasing his lead till the finish breaking the course record by over 5 minutes in 1:47:01. Bonello who missed the National Points series title due to mechanical problems despite winning 3 races showed excellent form and has set his eyes on the GSSE Games of Andorra next year. In the meantime the immediate chasers, Mark Bonnici and Ishmael Muscat, battled it out for the remaining positions. Bonnici was home over 9 minutes behind Bonello in 1:56:34. Muscat was forced to drop the towel because of an accident. In third spot finished Gozitan rider Domnic Cutajar in 2:00:01. In the sports category, the riders had to cover 4 laps over a distance of 24.8kms. This race was won by Owen Ciantar in 01:11:13, followed by Stefan Fenech in 01:19:15 and Ray Galea in 01:20:28. Mountain bike racing takes a short break and will be back with the summer cup in mid July. In the meantime the Malta mountainbike association would like to thank all the sponsors for their support as well as the riders for their commitment and dedication. For more information please visit www.maltamountainbike.com
