As part of preparations for the upcoming European Games to be held later on this month in Baku, Azerbaijan, Danica Bonello Spiteri has managed to produce strong results on foreign ground.

Her first performance was in Horst, Holland, racing in the Elite category in the European Duathlon Sprint Championships. Amongst a very strong field of some of Europe’s top duathletes, the first 5km run was fast from the word go, covering the distance in 17min 46seconds. The 20km bike was pancake flat in a typical Dutch style, but a very technical course with plenty of turns through picturesque villages. Coming off the bike in a group of 3 athletes, the 2.5km run was head to head until the final 500m where she was outsprinted by one of the athletes, leaving her to settle for 9th place overall in a commendable time of 1hr 4min 41seconds.

‘The race was literally the fast and the furious. I don’t think I’ve ever had to run so fast in my life, covering the first kilometre in 3.12, I knew it was going to be hard racing. I gave it my best and I’m pleased with the result’

Danica’s next commitment was on Spanish grounds, where she races with her Spanish team CTOA, participating in the Spanish National Team Championships. In both events Danica raced in the Elite category.  The first race was over a sprint distance triathlon where she was a strong member of her team, helping her team mates complete the team triathlon in 1hr 11min to place 6th overall in the Elite Category. 

‘The race was a new format of triathlon racing for me, where team work is essential and this is what led to my team doing so well. We worked at drafting in the swim, bike and run sections to ensure that the stronger athletes put in more work to ensure a faster race. I was happy to work hard for my team and we are pleased with the result’

The second race held was over super sprint distance(300m swim, 7km bike, 1.7km run) in relay format, consisting of 3 team members, Elena Aguliar, Nuria Blanco and Danica Bonello Spiteri. ‘My Spanish team felt that I was the stronger member of the team and put me into the last leg of the relay. I knew that since the distances were short it was going to be hard racing. Once I set off in the swim, our team was in 12th place and I put in a strong swim. The bike section had a little mishap, that possibly cost our team some time, but as soon as I got off the bike, I literally just ran! I’m in very good running form at present, and the run segment was only 1.7km, but I managed to beat 3 more athletes, thus putting my team into the 8th place overall. I was thrilled with all the support from my club whilst racing and it enabled me to dig deeper.  In fact, I managed to put in the second best run split overall, by just two seconds!’

In the last days, Bonello Spiteri entered two cycling races in the UCI World Tour held in Syros, Greece. She was first in her category and second overall in the Time-Trail race on Thursday, while she got the same result again in a mass-start races on Sunday. This enabled Danica to qualify for the UCI World Championships which will be staged in Copenhagen, Denmark, this September.

Other Maltese cyclists produced some great results in Skyros, namely Marie-Claire Aquilina by winning both races as well as Etienne Bonello and James Mifsud by placing in the overall standing and claiming podium finishes in the men races.

Through participation of these races, Danica Bonello Spiteri is on the right track towards producing a strong performance in her upcoming European Games in Baku in June. Participation  at these events was possible through kind assistance from Malta Olympic Committee, KMS Flexischeme, Malta Triathlon Federation, Ecco, Quest Vitamins, BBB Bike parts, BuffMalta, Club CTOA, along with Liliana Spiteri (Holland) and Nuria Blanco (Spain).

Rough seas  and strong headwinds were part of the race package during the Garmin Malta 113k National Long Distance Triathlon Championships which saw two new National Champions being crowned.   Fabio Spiteri (Agones SFC) and Margaret Seguna (Mellieha AC) were crowned national champions in what was a hotly contested race fought in a strong athlete pool that doubled in numbers over the previous year.  

Slovenian Triathlete, Jaroslav Kovacic, racing for the first time in Malta, showed his dominance from the very stat of the race by exiting the swim after twenty three minutes thirty five seconds and kept a consistent distance throughout the race. Second out of the water was Birkirkara St. Joseph’s Graham Borg in a time of twenty six minutes and six seconds. Italian Emilio Cucci exited the water in twenty seven minutes forty four seconds.  

The cycle segment gave a better indication of how final places would be taken up with Kovacic and Cucci dominating the first two places.  Spiteri’s strength on the bike showed in the cycle segment thus enabling him to move up to third place.  Whilst David Galea had the best run from the three Maltese podium finishers it was not enough for him to secure a podium place. 

In the end the overall Males category  won by Slovenian Athlete Jaroslav Kovacic who clocked 4 hrs 3 mins and 54 secs and setting a course record in the process. Second placed was Italian Under 23 triathlete Emiliano Cucci who crossed the finish line in 4 hrs 21 mins and 22 secs. Maltese Fabio Spiteri was the third male on the podium and crowned National Champion in a time of 4 hrs 28 mins and 36 secs. 

“It was great racing in Malta. Weather conditions were not easy and the bike route was very challenging but am happy to have reached my target time. Malta is a potential place for training and hope to bring some other Slovenian Triathletes to Malta hopefully to race and potentially for some training”. Jaroslav Kovacic commented. 

In the Maltese Classification, following Fabio Spiteri on the podium where Birkirkara St. Joseph’s Rudolph Agius in second place, clocking a time of four hours thirty three seconds, followed two seconds after by last year’s National Champion David Galea  who still managed to shave off forty nine seconds from last year’s time. 

In the Female Category Mellieha AC’s Margaret Seguna won her first National Championship title after a hard fought battle with last year’s winner Birkirkara St. Joseph’s Michelle Vella Wood. Seguna was the first female out of the water, followed by fellow Mellieha athlete Donatelle Camilleri. Vella Wood exited the water in third place, a shift in the first two positions was registered on the bike with Vella Wood gaining a substantial advantage over Seguna. Vella Wood’s performance in cycling is going from strength the strength showing the preparation she is undertaking for the Baku commitments paying off.  In the run Seguna had the better of Vella Wood which resulted her being the first female to cross the finish line in five hours two minutes and twenty six seconds.  Donatelle Camilleri completed the podium in third place. 

Age Group categories were won by Kelvin Goodwin (Male Over 40). Suzanne Farrugia and Jude Zammit took the Over 50 titles. 

Twenty four teams took part in the  Relay Team segment, which consisted of some of  Malta’s best athletes who teamed up for this event.  First and fastest swimmer was Sarah Demicoli who exited the water after twenty six minutes and two seconds. She was closely followed by Jean Claude Cutajar and Keith Galea.  In the Cycle segment, Wayne Spiteri shot through the difficult course in two hours and seventeen minutes. Strong performances by Paul Zarb and Mark Bonnici who were the second and third fastest cyclists. In the run segment, Michael Gellel, who made a welcome return to racing after quite a long absence showed that he still had racing in his blood and clocked in the fastest time.

Garmin Malta 113k Triathlon Results 

Individual Distance
1st Overall Male  - Jaroslav Kovacic (Slovenia)  4hrs 3 mins 54 secs
2nd Overall Male -  Emiliano Cucci (Italy) 4 hrs 21 mins 22 secs
3rd Overall Male - Fabio Spiteri (Malta) 4 hrs 28 mins 36 secs

1st Maltese Male & National Champion - Fabio Spiteri  4 hrs 28 mins 36 secs
2nd Maltese Male - Rudolph Agius 4 hrs 33 mins
3rd Maltese Male - David Galea 4 hrs 33 mins 2 secs

1st Overall Female & National Champion - Margaret Seguna 5 hrs 02 mins 26 secs
2nd Female - Michelle Vella Wood 5 hrs 10 mins 28 secs
3rd Female - Donatelle Camilleri 5 hrs 52 mins 49 secs

1st Over 40 Male  - Kelvin Goodwin 5 hrs 12 mins 50 secs
1st Over 50 Male -  Jude Zammit 5 hrs 03 mins 35 secs
1st Over 50 Female - Suzanne Farrugia  06 hrs 11 mins 4 secs

Final Results for Relay Teams s:-
1st Place -  Team H - Neil Markham (Swim) Wayne Spiteri (Cycle) Joe Pace (Run)  
4 hrs, 20 mins 4 secs

2nd Place - Shaun Galea (Swim) Mark Bonnici (Cycle) Kevin Zammit (Run) 
4 hrs 24 mins 46 secs

3rd Place - Nicol Cremona (Swim) Joseph Cremona (Cycle) Michael Gellel (Run)  
4 hrs 25 mins 17 secs. 

Members of the Malta National Triathlon Team, namely Keith Galea, Graham Borg and Hannah Pace took part in the 2nd Edition of the Olympic Triathlon of Custonaci in Sicily. The race consisted of a 1.5km Swim, 40km bike and a 10km Run.  Galea and Pace won their respective races while Borg obtained first place his age category.

Weather conditions were not favourable, especially due to strong winds which made the efforts of the athletes even harder in all segments of the race.

In the Men's race, Galea and Borg came out of the water together in 2nd and 3rd place respectively few seconds behind leader Enrico Schiavino. Once on the bike, the Maltese duo took advantage of the Drafting rule and worked well together as a team during the entire hilly bike route. The Maltese caught Schiavino after only 2 laps. Race favourite Emiliano Cucci caught the Maltese duo and started hi attacks on the most challenging parts of the course. However,  Galea reacted to Cucci’s attack whilst Borg managed to hang on and the three came in together in T2, marking the transition between the cycling and the final, running segment of the race.

Galea came out first from transition setting his usual fast pace. Cucci was feeling the efforts done during the bike as he could not keep up with Galea’s  pace who went on to win the race in 1hr 43mins 40sec. Enrico Schiavino finished second, a full 1minute 40sec behind Galea whilst Cucci finished in third place 3 minutes behind the leader. Graham Borg finished in 4th, put grabbing first  place of the podium in his age category.

The women’s race was dominated from start to finish by Hannah Pace. Pace was in a class of her own as she won the race in 1hr 55 minutes and 30seconds. The second placed athlete was a full twelve minutes behind Pace at the Finish Line. This was Pace second win in Sicily as she won the San Vito lo Capo Sprint Triathlon last April.

The Maltese Athletes were jubilant after the race and all expressed their great satisfaction for topping the spots in another International race. Both Pace and Galea remarked that this win gave them a mental boost ahead of the participation in the first European Games scheduled in Baku this June. Borg stated that his return to shape is a great feeling and he is now more determined than ever to reach further goals in the sport.

The athletes thanked their sponsors for their support, namely GARMIN Malta, BBB Bike Parts, Malta, Jaycee Malta, Challenge Malta Marathon, Mochika Outdoor life, Starbene 24/7, Cfragrances.com and their triathlon clubs.

All three athletes would like to thank the Malta Triathlon Federation, the Maltese Olympic Committee and the Kunsill Malti ghall-iSport for their constant support.

The Malta Triathlon Federation organised The Perskindol Malta National Duathlon Championships on Friday 1 May 2015. The event saw the confirmation of the Keith Galea and the regaining of the title by Michelle Vella Wood in a hotly fought race on the new course in Mtarfa, under perfect weather conditions.

Keith Galea was infront from start to finish as he executed his race-plan to perfection winning his third National Duathlon crown comfortably over previous-champion Fabio Spiteri who consistently claims a podium place every year in this race. Third place was gained by Steve Chetcuti as he is returning to the sport after almost a year out due to injuries.

In the female race, Michelle Vella Wood was building up the pressure on Danica Bonello Spiteri, but it was the latter who entered first after Run 1 with a 33 second lead. However, Vella Wood's recent focus on cycling paid its dividend as she stormed a two and a half minute advantage over Bonello-Spiteri during the cycling segment. During the final run, the lead was halved, but Vella Wood hold strong till the finish to claim the title, with Bonello-Spiteri in second and Hannah Pace in third place.

Vella Wood stated that 'This race turned out to be an amazing, brutal race that required me to give my utmost to compete against my very capable competitors. I am ecstatic to have managed to retake the title I won two years ago'. Continuing on the same line of thought, Galea commented that ' I am very pleased with my performance. Winning the duathlon title for the third time in my career is simply a great feeling. Although being the favourite, no race is easy. For me this performance confirms that my form is great and that am ready for my future challenges i have soon.'

The race was also very positive for Shaun Galea, an up and coming triathlete who at only 17 years of age claimed a 6th overall finish as well as the Under 17 category, and Dermot Galea who returned a National Championship race with a very convincing 7th overall spot.

Nina Zammit gained the Under 17 category, with Neil Markham and Lara Buttigieg topping the Under 23 grouping.  In the Masters Category, Kelvin John Goodwin, Kevin Muscat, Jude Zammit Joseph Cortis, Claudia Zammit and Marian Belsten all claimed their Age-Category, while Matthaeus Sciberras was the first athlete from the Malta Youth Triathlon Academy -MYTA to partecipate and successfully complete this National Championship.

The trophies for the winners were presented by Hon. Chris Agius, Parliamentary Secretary for Research Innovation, Youth and Sport and Mr Mario Micallef, Director of Sport at the Maltese Olympic Committee.

A kids' duathlon race and a fun-run for younger kids were organised by the Malta Triathlon Federation and the Malta Youth Triathlon Academy -MYTA immediately afterwards.

The Malta Triathlon Federation would like to extend it heartfelt thanks its main sponsors, N.M. Arrigo, agents in Malta of Perskindol. The MTF would also like to thank the Mtarfa Local Council for the great support and cooperation, the Rabat Local Council, the Malta Police Force, in particular the Traffic Section and the Rabat District, Transport Malta, The Parliamentary Secretary for Research, Innovation, Youth and Sport, and the committed group of volunteers and helpers who made this race possible.