Award of the George Cross to Malta Award of the George Cross to Malta The George Cross was awarded to the island of Malta by King George VI in a letter to the island's Governor, Lieutenant-General Sir William Dobbie, so as to "bear witness to the heroism and devotion of its people" during the great siege they underwent in the early part of World War II. Italy and Germany besieged Malta, then a British colony, from 1940 to 1942. The George Cross was incorporated into the Flag of Malta beginning in 1943 and remains on the current design of the flag. While Italian and German bombers brought
Cross-country eliminator was Paul Van Der Ploeg who became world champion. Fabrice Mels took the world championshiptitle in 2014 in Lillehammer. Cross-country eliminator The Cross-country eliminator "(XCE)" is a new mountain bike race format in which four riders compete against each other in each heat, similar to Four-cross. The two fastest riders get to the next round while the two slower riders are eliminated from the race. The format differs from the classic cross-country race both in its sprint character and the separation of the race into heats. The 500m - 1000m short track itself is similar to XC tracks, going both