Maltese endurance cyclist Stephen Grima, who rides for Gozitan club D Sports Lab and the team Tofit, achieved a strong result by finishing on the podium at the Wild Bear MTB Stage Race in Serbia.
This was the fourth edition of the event, which tested riders with 163 kilometres of tough trails and 5,100 metres of uphill climbing over three days in the scenic but challenging Tara National Park.
The race attracted riders from nearly 20 different countries. Conditions were tough, with heavy rain and mud on the first stage (56 km and 1,500 m of climbing), followed by the hardest stage, known as the “queen stage”, with 60 km and 2,000 m of climbing. The final stage was 47 km with 1,600 m of climbing.
Grima raced alongside his Croatian teammate Relvis Glavis. Together, they finished third in the Masters 50+ overall standings and 11th out of 35 teams in the general classification.
This result shows Grima’s growing success in international mountain biking. Earlier this year, he and Glavis finished 7th in their category at the Andorra Epic 2024 and 59th overall out of 230 teams. They also took part in the Absa Cape Epic 2024, although with different teammates, gaining more experience in the world’s toughest mountain bike races.
“Racing in Tara National Park was an amazing experience,” said Grima. “The climbs were non-stop, but sharing the challenge with Relvis and finishing on the podium against such strong competition means a lot to me and to Malta.”
