Great achievement for Team Greens in Greece

Team Greens resumed its international programme with the UCI World Cycling Tour qualifier races in Skyros, Greece.

The international event consisted of a 20km time trial on Friday and a 110km road race the following Sunday.

Team Greens was represented by Etienne Bonello, James Mifsud, Marie Claire Aquilina and Danica Bonello Spiteri.

The Greens had an outstanding performance in the first race as Bonello and Mifsud finished second and third overall in the opening time trial as well as first and second in their category.

Marie Claire Aquilina dominated the women’s time trial finishing first overall with Danica Bonello Spiteri in second place. Both Ladies won their respective category.

With just a day to recover, the Greens riders took on the 110km road race, which featured not less than 2,300 metres of climbing. The race was set out on two loops around Skyros island on undulating terrain with a three km incline which reached gradient peaks of 20%.

The male race was the most contested with a field of over 150 athletes.

Both Bonello and Mifsud stayed near the front of the peloton in order to react to any attacks. It was in the first major hill of the day that the race blew apart. The Greens duo showed their mettle as they charged up the hill braking loose of the peloton.

They gained a margin of over one minute till the top as they persisted with their effort through the following lap. Despite not being able to close the gap on a leading rider, they fended off a chasing peloton gaining an advantage of over four minutes towards the end.

There was no contestation for the second place between the Greens duo as they crossed the line together. In fact it was by mutual agreement that Mifsud crossed the line first to win his category and second overall. Bonello was third overall and second in his category.

Marie Claire Aquilina was the outright winner of the ladies race covering the 110km distance in 4:08, Danica Bonello Spiteri had a tougher time as she was contested by a Greek rider, whom she overtook in the final hill of the day to gain second overall and first in her category.

‘This was a great achievement for us at such an event, The road race was one of the hardest we did. We have prepared hard and long for this event and the results here were fruit of our preparation’ said Bonello in a comment after the race.

Following these results Team Greens has also qualified for the UCI World Cycling Tour world championships which will be held in Copenhagen in September. Team Greens’ next international commitment will be the Grandondo dei Monti Lepini in Rome on 7 June.