Cyprus, San Marino make history in San Marino

The mountain bike event of the XIII Games of the Small States of Europe will go down in history as the event which saw memorable finishes for Cyprus and for San Marino. Race host Cyprus saw three of its athletes take the podium to secure the top three medals in the event whilst San Marino saw Daniela Veronesi become the first-ever female athlete to take the gold in the mountain bike event.

In the men's event, there was triple delight for Cyprus as Marios Athanasiadis finished first with a time of 2:00.25.9 to take the gold whilst Vasilis Adamou came in second to take the silver. Countryman Michalis Kitis made it a sweep with a third place finish.

"Our target was always to make sure that own athletes got the top finishes and we are delighted to have achieved it," said the Technical Advisor of the Cyprus Cycling Federation Michalis Hadjioannou.

The women's event was introduced to the Games of the Small States of Europe (GSSE) for the first time this year. Veronesi took the top spot with a time of 1:30.00.

"I am delighted and proud to be part of this historic event," said the smiling woman from San Marino upon finishing the race.

Elina Sofocleous of the Cyprus won silver with her time of 1:39:31.5 whilst San Marino also took the bronze thanks to Roberta Monaldini.