Matthew Oliveira continued to edge Kaden Hopkins in their fierce but friendly rivalry after retaining his Butterfield Bermuda Grand Prix title.

Despite Hopkins taking the first two stages — the St George’s Hill Climb and the Southside Road Race — the pair were level on general classification heading into the Hamilton Criterium yesterday.

Although they worked together during the previous two days as Winners Edge team-mates, it inevitably came down to a two-horse race between them for overall honours after overlapping the entire field in the criterium’s Male A race.

As far as Oliveira was concerned, it was a matter of every man for himself as he snatched the first two intermediate sprint bonus points — after 20 and 40 minutes — before clinching victory in a surge to the finish line.

Hopkins, pretty much out of contention for the overall title by that stage — with Oliveira two seconds ahead thanks to the bonus points — exchanged angry words with his rival midway through the race, perhaps more out of frustration than anything else. He was, however, quick to congratulate his team-mate on his victory; Oliveira, too, had nothing but praise for Hopkins and said he simply “did what I had to do to win”.

“There was a lot of beef between us today and at the end of the day someone has to win,” Oliveira said.

“We worked as team-mates to lap everyone but we were tied after the first two days and I needed those bonus times to pull ahead.

“There was a lot of stress between us on that [bonus point] lap because it’s all about positioning and at one point we almost came to a standstill!”

Despite their growing rivalry, Oliveira said the pair both knew the importance of working as team-mates while maintaining a competitive streak.

“Kaden is really strong and he really helped me over the last two days,” said Oliveira, who defends his Sinclair Packwood Memorial Race title next month.

“I don’t think we would be here if it wasn’t for us working together.

“You need competition like that otherwise no one is going to get stronger.”

Hopkins, also aged 17, admits Oliveira “played it very smooth" when it came to securing the bonus points.

“I’m a little bit disappointed but what can you do?” Hopkins said.

“The thing about this weekend is that the whole thing comes down to time, not position. You can win all three races but if you lose the time bonuses — and it’s a close enough race — you end up not winning.

“Matt made sure I was on the front so he had the better position and I wouldn’t know when he would go and stuff.”

Although Oliveira has shaded the majority of battles between the pair, Hopkins believes there is little to separate them.

“We train together, race together, do a lot of the same things and we’re both just as dedicated as each other,” he added. “We’re pretty much at the same level and it comes down to the day and who is the smarter racer.”

Like Oliveira, Hopkins also believes their rivalry is critical to the continuation of each other’s development.

“Cycling is a big sport in Bermuda but the competition is nothing like it is overseas,” Hopkins said.

“When you have someone equal or stronger in ability and you’re constantly fighting it out, that’s one of the only ways to get stronger here.”

In the women’s race, Alyssa Rowse, of Bicycle Works, retained her title after working with Zoenique Williams, of Winners Edge, to claim a top-two finish in the Hamilton Criterium.

Rowse and Williams spoke prior to the race about teaming up in the face of a strong Madison team featuring Ashley Estwanik, Rose-Anna Hoey, Sarah Bonnett and April Joyce.

“I went straight from the start and luckily Zoenique was up with me and we worked together the whole race,” said Rowse, 17, who came second in the hill climb and fifth in the road race.

“I really have to give kudos to her because otherwise I probably wouldn’t have done as well as I did.”