Strong performance in the Tour of Malta

Hi Everyone

Recently I took part in the tour of Malta. The tour was held from the 3^rd April till the 6^th April. I was not expecting anything from this tour. The main reason why I participated was that I wanted to use it as a hard training session to boost my bike performance for the rest of the season. Since the tour attracts many foreign cyclists it was a good opportunity to push myself to the limit by trying to keep up with the best cyclists

The tour kicked off on Thursday 3^rd April with an 18.2km Time Trail held at the Mellieha by pass. Although the tour was a training session for me still I treated it as an important race so I did everything I do normally when I do a race with a proper warm up for each stage and with a good nutrition targeted to have sufficient energy over the four days. Still it was an international event where I was representing my club and my sponsors so I still wanted to perform well to the best of my cycling abilities.

The weather on Thursday was really windy. My start was very late and was getting nervous by time as I was very early as usual. I was not very happy with the wind. I knew I was going to suffer. However I started the tour on a high note. The Time Trail went really well. Felt powerful and was able to ride strong against the wind. I covered the 18.2km in 30.54 to finish in 20^th place and 5^th Maltese from 65 cyclists, a very positive performance.

On Friday 4^th April we had a 100km Road race. We had to do 10 laps around San Martin Circuit. My aim was to stay with the leading group and with the top Maltese Cyclist as much as possible. I managed to stay with the main group for most of the race. Sometimes I lost some ground on the main pack but managed to re-enter in the main bunch. However at 2 laps to go I could not cover an attack and lost the main group. My legs were getting tiered with all those attack as they are not used to such a thing. I ended up alone at one point. Again it was very windy, thus I lost a lot of time. At the end of the race I was simply drained. I gave everything I had, and cycling alone against that wind really tired me and was only hoping to recover for the next stage. I finished the race in 21^st overall and 5^th Maltese. In the overall classification I was 21^st overall and 6^th Maltese

Luckily on Saturday I woke up well. The massage I took the day before soon after the race worked. We had another hilly road race, this time we had to cycle 12 laps around Nadur circuit which is situated on Gozo. Again it was another windy day but I was determined to get some of the time lost at San Martin. I had a very strong race. I attacked from the very first lap, however none of the foreign teams wanted a breakaway. I tried to go on the attack several times but did not manage. However this time I managed to stay in the main pack and in the general classification I gained a few positions to 19^th overall and 5^th Maltese.

On Sunday was the last stage. A short 12km Time Trail at Zebbug By Pass. I was strong during the race but it was very windy and this time was not that strong against the winds and lost valuable seconds. At Nadur I pushed a lot that in this TT I did not had the legs I wished for to improve my position in the GC. However I finished my 6^th Tour of Malta in 19^th overall and 6^th Maltese. Not bad for a triathlete and for someone who did not prepare specifically for such a race. In the end I achieved my target, that to push beyond my limits on the bike. Now I hope to recover well from the tour and see the benefits I am wishing for.

I would like to thank my coach Dermot Galea, my swimming coach Stan Ioan Catalin my sponsors Garmin Malta, Starbene Shop of Mosta, BBB Bike Parts – Malta, challenge Malta Marathon and Jaycee Malta, my club Birkirkara St Joseph especially our general secretary Euchar Camilleri, the Malta Triathlon Federation for the constant support and my wife’s parents. A big thanks goes to my parents who followed me really close during this tour. Thanks to my masseur Owen Attard because thanks to his massages I was able to recover well between the stages.

Thanks to my dear wife Elizabeth for her constant support and her patience. My wife is very important to me. She could not come to see me in the first 2 stages due to work commitments. I felt a bit strange without her. I want her close to me in every single race. In fact when she came to see me in Nadur , I immediately had a strong performance. Although she could not come to see me, she still prepared me the food after each stage and also she prepared wonderful dinners in the evening. Thanks qalbi xxxxx

That’s all for now

Yours in Sports

Keith.