Bike it Up Racing enjoyed a highly successful trip to Sicily over the weekend, travelling some 600km from Saturday to compete in Round 1 of the Coppa Sicilia, a 20km Individual Time Trial held in Caprileone.
We were the only team from Malta taking part in the event, with Jurgen Casha lining up in the Masters 1 category, while Jacob Schembri, John Camilleri and Daniel Briffa raced in the highly competitive Elite Sport category.
Jurgen Casha delivered an excellent performance in the Masters 1 race, finishing in 2nd place with a time of 27 minutes and 49 seconds. It was a brilliant result for Jurgen, who secured a podium finish in his first-ever Individual Time Trial abroad.
The standout performance of the day came in the Elite Sport category, where Bike it Up Racing achieved an incredible clean sweep of the podium. In a super display by the Maltese trio, Daniel Briffa took victory in 24 minutes and 16 seconds, John Camilleri followed in 2nd place with a time of 24 minutes and 25 seconds, and Jacob Schembri completed the all-Maltese podium in 3rd with a time of 24 minutes and 29 seconds.
To complete the podium in Sicily against international competition marks a major statement from these young athletes and underlines the strength currently within Maltese cycling.
This success comes just one week after Schembri, Camilleri and Briffa combined to win the Team Time Trial in Ħaż-Żebbuġ by a margin of more than two minutes, further confirming their excellent early-season form.
The results in Sicily indicate a very strong start to the 2026 season for Bike it Up Racing. With confidence high, the riders now focus their attention to the 2026 Tour of Malta in April, before later representing Malta, by forming part of the National Team during the season.
