For the second year running, Agones SFC organised the National Cross-Triathlon Championship under the auspices of the Malta Triathlon Federation. Cross-Triathlon is a multisport event which consists of offroad cycling and running segments. This year, the event was sponsored by Garmin Malta and supported by Mochika Outdoor Life. The championship was held at Xgħajra on Sunday 7 August.
The wind in the previous hours filled the sea with a swell that was not deemed unsafe for the participants and thus the race was turned into an Duathlon of 1.6KM run, 20KM cycle and 5KM final run.
It was last year's champion, Shaun Galea who wrapped up the first run in the fastest time, but unfortunately for him the bike segment was plagued with technical problems thus slowing him down. On the other hand, Alan Borg and Ackerly Hili stood up together leading the race for most of the cycling segment and they rushed off for the final run in an almost identical time. However, Alan Borg was on fire on the day and he pushed back Hili's challenge by a spectacular second run whcih saw him winning the race and conquering his first ever National Championship. Hili held on to second place while Joseph Galea managed third place. Last year winner, Shaun Galea, could not obtain better than the 4th place.
In the female race, Danica Bonello Spiteri dominated from start to finish, in all three sectors of the race and she finished well in front of the second-placed Lara Buttigieg who had to mitigate problems on the bike to finish the race. Donia Micallef was third after good runs.
Joseph Zammit and Patrick Scicluna teamed up to win the Relay-Teams competition on the day.
Immediately after the race, Alan Borg was jubilant after his first ever National title. 'I simply had the perfect race today, and I felt strong and confident throughout. After the first run, I joined the leading pack and contended the leg with Ackerly Hili who was also very strong on the off road course. Winning the title was very emotional to me after so many hard work and sacrifices' said Borg. He thanked his coach Danica and all the team, and more importantly his family and relatives. Bonello Spiteir also reacted on the same line as Borg and stated that 'I made an effort not to start too fast on the first run. On the bike course, I was doing really well but had a puncture after just 4 kilometres. I managed to remain focused and was feeling very confident due to fact that I have improved a lot on the technical aspect lately. I was also very happy for my team mates, Alan Borg and Lara Buttigieg for their important results', said Bonello Spiteri.
In conjunction with the Malta Youth Triathlon Academy-MYTA, kids and youth cross-country races were held on the same morning. Max Spiteri Fiteni and Julienne Woods topped the Under 9 Category, while Kai Azzopardi and Viola Banyai won the Under 11 race. The Youth race saw Thomas Woods and Charlotte Spencer were first in while the Junior race was won by Nikol Micallef and Callie Hock.
The organising club of Agones SFC thanked the Malta Triathlon Federation for its support, Medcomms Malta, agents of Garmin for sponsoring the race and Mochika Outdoor Life for supporting the event.
It was last year's champion, Shaun Galea who wrapped up the first run in the fastest time, but unfortunately for him the bike segment was plagued with technical problems thus slowing him down. On the other hand, Alan Borg and Ackerly Hili stood up together leading the race for most of the cycling segment and they rushed off for the final run in an almost identical time. However, Alan Borg was on fire on the day and he pushed back Hili's challenge by a spectacular second run whcih saw him winning the race and conquering his first ever National Championship. Hili held on to second place while Joseph Galea managed third place. Last year winner, Shaun Galea, could not obtain better than the 4th place.
In the female race, Danica Bonello Spiteri dominated from start to finish, in all three sectors of the race and she finished well in front of the second-placed Lara Buttigieg who had to mitigate problems on the bike to finish the race. Donia Micallef was third after good runs.
Joseph Zammit and Patrick Scicluna teamed up to win the Relay-Teams competition on the day.
Immediately after the race, Alan Borg was jubilant after his first ever National title. 'I simply had the perfect race today, and I felt strong and confident throughout. After the first run, I joined the leading pack and contended the leg with Ackerly Hili who was also very strong on the off road course. Winning the title was very emotional to me after so many hard work and sacrifices' said Borg. He thanked his coach Danica and all the team, and more importantly his family and relatives. Bonello Spiteir also reacted on the same line as Borg and stated that 'I made an effort not to start too fast on the first run. On the bike course, I was doing really well but had a puncture after just 4 kilometres. I managed to remain focused and was feeling very confident due to fact that I have improved a lot on the technical aspect lately. I was also very happy for my team mates, Alan Borg and Lara Buttigieg for their important results', said Bonello Spiteri.
In conjunction with the Malta Youth Triathlon Academy-MYTA, kids and youth cross-country races were held on the same morning. Max Spiteri Fiteni and Julienne Woods topped the Under 9 Category, while Kai Azzopardi and Viola Banyai won the Under 11 race. The Youth race saw Thomas Woods and Charlotte Spencer were first in while the Junior race was won by Nikol Micallef and Callie Hock.
The organising club of Agones SFC thanked the Malta Triathlon Federation for its support, Medcomms Malta, agents of Garmin for sponsoring the race and Mochika Outdoor Life for supporting the event.
