Diary of a Medic-on-a-bike: Tour ta’ Malta 2011.

It hadn’t been a particularly successful start to the racing season. My first road race of the year (in Windsor) was abandoned, following a number of nasty crashes. Thankfully I had managed to stay upright and headed home, slightly shaken up, in order to pack up my bike.

The following day, I flew out to Malta to race in the Tour ta’ Malta with “Team Squadra Donne UK”. Jon Miles, our team manager, coached the Maltese National Team for ten years, so it has become tradition for our team to race in this challenging stage race. Squadra Donne has been rather successful in the past few years, with Iona Sewell winning the Tour in 2010 and coming third in 2009.

I was absolutely shattered after some crazy shifts at work, so it was good to have a few days to settle in and acclimatise to the heat. The day after we arrived, we rode out along the Coast Road to have a look at the time trial course for Stage 1. It was great to be out in the sunshine and to ride with my team-mates. As we live all over the UK, we don’t get to ride together very often. Jon and Steve treated us to ice-creams on the way home. We were, after all, on holiday!

The following day, we rode out to the St Martin circuit with some guys from AW Cycles. The pace was pretty fast and I found myself working harder than I’d have liked to, considering it was the day before a four-stage race! We rode up the 2km climb a couple of times and familiarised ourselves with the bumps and holes in the road that would be a very fast descent in race conditions. Alice and I persuaded the others to take a detour via Golden Bay on the way home, where we paddled in the sea and enjoyed the sunshine.

Back at the hotel, Iona decided to do a spot of weight-lifting – persuading me that it would be a good idea to buy two 6-packs of water from the supermarket and carry them home…

The first stage of the race was on Thursday: an individual time trial – four laps of the undulating Coast Road circuit – 25km in total. Steve lent me his deep-section wheels. I don’t know if they made me any faster but they certainly looked cool on my bike!

Time-trialling isn’t really my forte… I’m hoping I’ll improve with a bit more practice. I put my head down, rode hard and did my best. One of the hardest aspects of the course was trying to get round the “dead-turns” at each end of the circuit without slowing down too much. Power-house Iona put in a superb ride and finished third overall with Steph and Alice in 6th and 7th place.

On Friday, we rode the 11.5 miles to the St Martin Circuit. The race started at the top of the climb – six laps of the circuit in total. The pace was fast from the start. I quickly had to remind my body that this was, in fact, a race  and I was going to have to work hard for the next couple of hours! Our aim, as a team, was to keep Iona up with the lead riders and get her across the finish line first. As we approached the first climb, the Polish and Italian girls (in 1st and 2nd place) attacked and the pace lifted. Iona stayed on the leader’s wheel and found herself in the break. I managed to stay with the bunch about 2/3 of the way up the climb but soon found myself in a chasing group, riding with 2 Dutch girls. I crossed the line in 12th place after a physically and mentally challenging ride. Ahead of me, Iona had finished in third place, with Alice and Steph in 4th and 5th. Fantastic results for the rest of the team!

We had a very early start the following morning, leaving the hotel at 6:30am to get on the ferry to Gozo. Stage 3 took place on a new circuit with a significant climb and long descent on each lap. I was rather relieved to find that we would only be racing 6 laps of the circuit (rather than 8 laps, which we had expected). It was a windy day, which meant a strong headwind for half of the course. Jon instructed me to stay on the wheel in front. I was determined.

Iona shot off up the climb with the leaders but soon found herself back in the bunch. After one of Steve’s champion massages the previous evening, my legs were actually feeling quite strong. I surprised myself by staying with the main bunch for most of the race – a significant improvement on the previous day’s ride. It was a great feeling to be riding with my team-mates and to be working with them as a team. The race ended with a bunch sprint. Alice crossed the line first (finishing in 3rd place) with Steph and Iona just behind.

We had another early start on Sunday, as we rode out to the Zebbug bypass for the final stage. This was another individual time trial on a fast course with a gentle downhill for one leg followed by a gentle uphill drag on the return leg. 12km, 3 laps in total. I think this course suited me better(!) and I finished in 10th place. Iona put in another cracking performance, finishing 3rd. Steph and Alice finished 6th and 9th.

The excitement of the day came in the men’s race. Alice’s boyfriend, Andrew Griffiths (Twenty3C-Orbea) had been guest-riding for a Maltese team and had been in first place up until Stage 3. He was 31s behind the leader at the start of Stage 4. Could he make up precious seconds in the time trial? All eyes and stop-watches were on the final two riders in the time trial. Alice’s voice could be heard in the next town, as she cheered on Andrew! Finally the results came through. Andrew had won the time trial by 32 seconds and had won the overall Tour!

We had a gentle ride back to Sliema for the prize presentations. While we were waiting for the final results, the local BMX riders treated us to a display of some pretty impressive stunts and jumps!

Finally, it was time for more photos and applause. Iona, having finished 3rd in three stages, finished in 3rd place overall.

Steph, finishing in 5th place overall, won the prize for the first Maltese rider. A great result for Squadra Donne.

All in all, a great start to the season for Squadra Donne. Special mention must go to Alice Monger-Godfrey, who was a tremendous asset to the team and worked really hard to encourage her team-mates. And special thanks must go to Jon and Steve for everything that they do to encourage and support us as a team.

Sarah