Galea, Pratt and Rojas retain Tour ta’ Malta top spot

The second day of the Tour ta’ Malta was characterised by an exciting sprint finish to the road race that was held along the Żebbuġ Bypass.

In the elite class, which saw participants complete 15 laps of the circuit, Swiss rider Nicola Schleuniger, of OBOR-BIKE AID Cycling Team, won the stage after a tight sprint between five cyclists in a time of 1:33.29.

Schleuniger finished just a second ahead of Bernard Galea (The Cyclist/Agones) while Heorhii Antonenko (OBOR-BIKE AID Cycling Team) completed the podium a further second behind.

In the overall standings, Galea retained his red jersey with an accumulated time of three hours, seven seconds ahead of Simone Cerio of ASD Team Simo Bike.

Top placing

The women’s class saw the participants engaged in 12 laps and here, Maltese Austrialian Jessica Pratt (Team Greens) secured her second successive win in the Tour after a tight sprint with Mathilde Pauls, of FTP Racing (UK).

Malta’s Diana Muscat (Team Greens) placed third.

In the general classification, Pratt retained her top placing with a total time of 1:51:37, seven seconds ahead of Pauls.

In the Masters category, Daniele Dale, of BPC Race Team (UK), emerged victorious in a time of 1:20:06 seconds ahead of David Michinson of Cinnamon Cafe Saddle Drunk Race Team and Etienne Bonello of Team Greens.

Colombian Joaquin Rojas, of Team Greens, remained the leader of this category with a total time of 1:45:10, one second ahead of Bonello.

At the end of this stage, Daniel Borg Olivier, Treasurer of the Maltese Cycling Federation and Steve Zammit Lupi from the Local Council of Żebbuġ presented the medals to the winners.

The Tour of Malta continues on Saturday, a race on the 5km circuit in Ta’ Pinellu, Mellieħa where the Elite will do 10 laps, while the Women and the Masters will be engaged in seven laps. The departure will be at 7am.

The Tour of Malta is being held under the auspices of the Maltese Cycling Federation, with the support of SportMalta and the Maltese Olympic Committee.

Catch up on Day One here…