Maltese endurance cyclist Stephen Grima, of Gozitan club D Sports Lab and racing for Tofit, delivered a strong performance to claim a podium finish at the Wild Bear MTB Stage Race in Serbia.
Now in its fourth edition, the Wild Bear MTB Stage Race challenged riders with 163 kilometres of technical terrain and a punishing 5,100 metres of climbing spread across three days within the rugged beauty of Tara National Park.
The race attracted a strong international line-up, with athletes from almost 20 countries taking part.
With conditions ranging from heavy rain and mud on Stage 1 (56 km, 1,500 m climbing), to the punishing “queen stage” (60 km, 2,000 m climbing) on Stage 2, before closing with 47 km and 1,600 m of climbing in Stage 3.
Grima completed one of Europe’s most demanding stage races with Croatian team-mate Relvis Glavis. The duo finished third in the Masters 50+ General Classification and 11th overall out of 35 competing teams.
For Grima, the result underscores his growing presence on the international mountain bike stage.
Earlier this year, he and Glavis raced together at the Andorra Epic 2024, finishing 7th in their category and 59th overall out of 230 teams. Both riders also took part in the Absa Cape Epic 2025, albeit with different teammates, consolidating their experience at the world’s toughest mountain bike stage races.
Both riders also took part in the Absa Cape Epic 2024, albeit with different teammates, consolidating their experience at the world’s toughest mountain bike stage races.
“Racing at Tara National Park was an incredible experience,” said Grima.
“The climbs were relentless, but sharing this journey with Relvis and reaching the podium against such a strong field makes the result very special for me and for Malta.”
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