Saints place 4th

Hi Everyone,

Last Sunday the Birkirkara St Joseph Cycling Team took part in the 40km Team Time Trail Event held at the Salina Coast Road organised by the Greens Cycling Club. This was the first appearance of the club in this yearly event. The Team was composed by Dermot Galea, Mark Vella, Daniel Gauci and I.

Since we did not have a very strong team compared to the other cycling clubs our aim was to go under the hour and fighting for a third place. We managed to do so as we covered the distance in a time of 59.30 at an average speed of 40km/hr and unfortunately we missed third place by only 35seconds. It was a very tight battle for the third spot as the Melita Team B came home in 5th place just 10 seconds behind us.




Things started to go wrong from the first kilometres as one of our cyclists, Mark Vella dropped out due to pains in his back. We kept calm and still followed our plan however the pace was a bit too sustained for Daniel that he had to stay behind and my brother and I kept on pushing in front practically for the whole 40km. Since the time was being taken on the third cyclist, we could not afford to loose Daniel along the way so my brother and I kept a constant pace and we were not going all out especially after the turnarounds to save Daniel’s Legs

However we noticed that 3rd place was in sight as we were beating the Mosta Team and we were gaining ground on Qormi C.C. and Melita (B). Everyting depended in the last lap. Daniel was feeling very tired and my brother and I were really cheering and supporting Daniel not to give up since were there for 3rd. I took the lead of the team in most of the last lap. I increased the pace and was really impressed by Daniel’s fighting spirit as he stayed there fighting against all odds.

My brother and I worked really well together. We really managed to pace ourselves well along the way. I am really happy with my performance. I felt really good and my legs were strong for the whole 40km. I really felt comfortable on my TT bike, ‘Federica’, we were a one whole thing. This is my best ever TT performance. Finally training is paying off.


Well done to the whole Team as we did a great race and we should be proud of what we did

Keep you posted

Keith

Sickness ruins first race of the season

Hi Everyone,

Last Sunday, I took part in the first race of the Cycling racing calendar, the classic Qormi-Dingli Time Trial. The race was 10.5km long which started from the Mriehel by-pass to the village of Dingli. Every year, the weather always seems to be the same, heavy rain, slippery roads and force 8 head wind! Such weather hinders a cyclist.

The race was part of my training schedule, however when on a start line, one always tries to give it one’s best! I tried and studied the race route several times as to know when is best to push. Unfortunately, I was sick during the race weekend, so I was not expecting great results. However I don’t like to give up and I did the race as planned against all odds.

The weather did not help me being sick. I did a good warm up and tried to stay as warm as I could because it was a very cold morning. Unfortunately 5 minutes before my start it started raining heavily and I hate racing in the rain because roads are dangerous when wet and I could not take the risks I usually take.

I started fast but not all out, so that I preserve my energy for the Saqqajja hill. I really pushed and I really suffered against the wind. It was so strong that it was difficult to keep control of my front wheel. I attacked the hill and from then I started pushing to the maximum. However I could not as roads were slippery and my legs were not in their 100%. I realized that I was still sick and that I could not get the best out of my body.

I covered the 10.5km Time Trial in 22mins 13seconds in 10th place. I am a bit disappointed because I was in a very good shape and wanted to have an indication from the race about my form. However, considering everything, coming home 10th, 30 sec away from the top 5 is a good result

That’s all for now

Keith