Two in a row for Bonello Spiteri
The second race of the Go & Fun BSJ Sprint Triathlon Series took place in sweltering conditions on Sunday morning on the Salina Coast Road.
Similar to last week’s
season opener there was a strong crowd.
The 750m swim took
place in relatively calm waters.
As expected first out
of the water was Bernard Sant, who improved on last week’s timings. He was
followed by Shaun Galea, Hannah Cutajar and Malcolm Vassallo – the latter two
also registering substantially better times than those of the previous week.
Setting off on the
bike segment, one could be forgiven for thinking that last week’s podium trio
would be back, however, as the race progressed Galea’s pace,
uncharacteristically, started slowing down making way for last week’s third
placed Josef Bonavia and fifth placed Joseph Galea.
With Bonavia
registering once again the fastest bike segment for the day and Galea closing
in on him as well, it was going to be an interesting race as they took off on
the five-kilometre run.
Sant put a determined
stride in an attempt to keep the gap achieved from the swim firmly between
them.
However, Bonavia and
Galea kept closing in on him, with Bonavia overtaking him at the 2.5km
turnaround point.
With the possibility
of a first victory, Bonavia kept a determined and focused pace to cross the
finish line in one hour two minutes 42 seconds – an improvement of 50 seconds
over the previous week.
Behind them the battle
was not over. In the end, it was Galea who crossed the finish line in second
place, with Sant finishing twenty-three seconds behind him.
In the females’ race,
Hannah Cutajar was the first female out of the water. Twenty-seven seconds
behind her was Danica Bonello Spiteri, who also registered a minimal
improvement from last week’s swim time.
Cutajar took the lead
on the bike segment, however Bonello Spiteri edged her way past Cutajar in the
second lap. Bonello Spiteri maintained her lead until the very end of the
five-kilometre run to register her second consecutive win of the series, with a
31-second improvement.
Meanwhile with last
week’s third placed Lara Buttigieg out of competition due to injury and fourth
placed Lindsey Zammit not taking part, third place was up for grabs.
The evergreen Suzanne
Farrugia registered the third fastest bike split, however, in the end it was
Anjelika Ruggier who took the final place on the ladies’ podium.
Malta Triathlon
Federation president John Vella presented medals to the top three winners at
the end of the race.
The third race of the
Go & Fun BSJ Sprint Triathlon Series takes place on Sunday, September 6 on
the Salina Coast Road.
RESULTS
MEN:
1. J. Bonavia 1:02.42; 2. J. Galea 1:03.05; 3. B. Sant 1:03.28.
WOMEN:
D. Bonello Spiteri 1:06.07; 2. H. Cutajar 1:07.29; 3. A. Ruggier 1:21.36.
