Martin Lawless of Ashwell Cycling Club third in the Malta Tour
Published:
3:24 PM April 22, 2022
Martin Lawless of the Ashwell Cycling Club returned to Guilden Morden with a third place trophy from the Malta Tour.
The international road cycling event, now in its 26th year, attracts riders from all over the world and is described as the ‘friendly tour’ of the Mediterranean.
Competing on three separate stages with the overall time used to decide the winner, Lawless was happening in the masters category.
It started with a seven-mile individual time trial, a man against the clock, near the coastal road in St. Paul’s Bay.
With the wind factor, Lawless managed to place third, 32 seconds away from early leader Dave Mitchinson from Hatfield.
Stage Two was a hilly road race near the island’s popular Golden Bay, where riders had to negotiate six times the locally known 1.5-mile St. Martin’s Hill.
Lawless took another third place at this stage in a frantic uphill dash to the line, Mitchinson took the win again.
The last stage, which appeared on Malta TV news, was another road race on the hills of the old town of Mdina.
Lawless was assisted by Ashwell teammate David Wells who, despite suffering a broken pedal from a previous collision, kept up the pace to prevent any breakaway that could lift Lawless from his podium position.
With the stage ending in a bunch sprint, and Lawless fourth, there was no change in the overall standings and Ashwell’s husband sealed his third place trophy.
Lawless, who is also one of Ashwell’s youth coaches, hopes his success will inspire local riders to take their cycling forward.
Ashwell Cycling Club runs weekly youth training sessions on summer evenings and welcomes all children who want more interest in cycling and fitness. .
For more information, contact head-coach [email protected]