On the 8th of March 2026 in Triq l-Imdina, Ħaż-Żebbug (Bypass) at 7am, Bike it Up Racing will be hosting a Team Time Trial as part of the 2026 National Club Series. This event is being organized under the auspices of the Malta Cycling Federation and shall be held in accordance with the rules & regulations of the Malta Cycling Federation in collaboration with the Ħaż-Żebbug Local Council.
This race will carry points towards the National Club Series. Only members registered with the MCF will be allocated points, including foreign riders living in Malta from the Junior Category onwards.
Triathletes and individual riders are invited to participate, even if not registered with the MCF upon a day licence fee to the MCF of €10 on top of the race fee. They will not be awarded points contributing to the series.
Event details and format:
The event is planned to be set up as follows:
- Race distance will be 6 laps (±24km) for Male Open Category, and 5 laps (±20km) for Female Open Category.
- Male Open Category: 3 or 4 men – timing on first 3 riders
- Female Open Category: 2 or 3 females – timing on first 2 riders
- This means every team can lose a rider along the way.
- Youths (U12, U14 & U16 males & females): Individual Time Trial
- U12 M&F will ride one lap of the course. U14 M&F 2 laps. U16 M&F 4 laps.
- Youths presentation will occur after their race, before the adults start.
Awards
- Youths: U12 Male & Female, U14 Male & Female, U16 Male & Female – 1st, 2nd, 3rd ITT
- Adults: Open Male & Female – 1st, 2nd, 3rd teams
Information
- Start is at 7:00am
- Clubs can register more than one team. The main team of each club has to be composed from riders forming part of the same club & MCF registered under the club.
- Team members can be of different clubs in the case that there would not be enough they will be allowed to form a team or race with their individual club.
- Triathletes who have a valid insurance policy will be allowed to form a team or race with their individual club.
- In the eventuality that a rider loses contact with his team due to puncture or race tactic, and his team decides not to wait for him, this rider has to get off the course and must not cross the finish line as his timing will not be valid and would interfere with the timing process. However if his team wins a prize he will also be awarded.
- Teams will leave at 2 minutes intervals and they are responsible to counting their own laps and when to cross the finish line.
- No vehicles will be allowed on the circuit.
- Only the northbound carriageway (Żebbuġ to Rabat side) will be used for the event. The southbound carriageway will remain fully open to public traffic. (Just like Zerniq bir-rota)
- No drafting will be allowed between teams, if any team overtaking or being overtaken is caught drafting will be disqualified by the race judges who will be positioned along the course.
- Riders are to use their timing chip/ rent one on the day at the cost of 5€. Contact ARRTS.
- Cyclists are not to approach the timekeepers table for results. Each club should designate a club delegate to help on the finish line if need be.
- If a cyclist has a grievance or complaint, the cyclist should advise his/her Club delegate who should forward the grievance/complaint to the organizers through the proper channels.
- Starting order will be determined following rider registrations. Start of race is at 7:00 am. Final race schedule will be determined after closure of registrations.
- All riders are to have their timing chip set on their bikes as instructed by the MCF. Due to the timing system setup, no participants can be on the race route or close to the start/finish line unless they’re racing. Riders that cross the line while they are not racing or warm up on the racecourse before their race will automatically be detected by the system and marked as NON STARTER.
- Note from ARRTS: All cyclists need to have their transponder checked. Cyclists need to be at the Start/Finish Area at least 30mins before. If timing chip marks below 2.3v, it needs changing.
Points System
- Points will be awarded using the same system as the National Series races (1st place – 200 points, 2nd – 175, 3rd – 155, 4th -140, and so on). Points will be awarded regardless of nationality, so unlike the National Series, foreign riders will also receive points.
- For the adult categories, ALL riders who are part of the winning team will receive 200 points each. Dropped riders who completed at least 4 laps, still get awarded points. This applies even if the team includes riders from different clubs.
- Male Open will be run as a single category on the day. For series points, a separate Masters classification will be extracted from the Male Open results: only teams made up entirely of Masters riders will be eligible to score Masters points (the first all-Masters team will receive the top Masters points, and so on). All-Elite teams remain eligible to score Elite points. Mixed-age teams (e.g., 2 Masters + 2 Elite) may compete and will be listed in the results, but will be ineligible for any series points.
- In the youth categories, points will be awarded in the same way, but on an individual basis, as youth races are not team based.
- Only athletes who are registered with MCF are eligible to receive points. Athletes who are not registered with MCF (meaning, all athletes racing with a one-day licence), will not receive any points.
- All points earned will be awarded to the individual athlete and are also counted towards their registered club.
Youths: €10 per rider
Adult categories: €20 per rider
Individual riders and MCF Clubs can send their registrations to racing@bikeitup.com.mt by not later than Wednesday 4th March, along with proof of payment. Clubs must submit registrations in Excel format, clearly listing riders per team (if entering more than one team) Individual riders without a team should register and contact the organisers as we’ll do our best to place you in a team; in this case, payment is only required once the team is complete.
Payments can be sent to:
IBAN: LT23 3250 0462 3329 7641 BIC/SWIFT: REVOLT21
For more details, WhatsApp 99819642 / 79027027 or email racing@bikeitup.com.mt