It felt like a passing of the cycling torch as 17-year-old Jackson Langley beat one of his mentors to win the Sinclair Packwood Memorial Race on Bermuda Day.

Langley had enough time to celebrate before crossing the line more than a minute clear of six-times winner Dominique Mayho, who won a long sprint for second ahead of Dylan Eiselt.

Given his margin of victory, Langley did not really need to catch his breath after coasting down the hill on Cedar Avenue and he was quick to reveal how much winning the race meant to him.

“This is the biggest race on the calendar because of the spectators and the fact everybody is out on the streets for the day,” he said.

“So it means a tonne to win it. Bermuda Day is one of my favourite days of the year and there’s no better combination than Bermuda and sports, so this is like Christmas Day for me ― it might be better actually.”

Langley made an early break for victory, knowing that his victory would be in peril if the race concluded in a sprint.

“it was pretty tough because I went fairly early,” he said.

“I went at White Hill by Port Royal and after chatting with Dom, I knew I had to be aggressive from the start.

“Luckily I had his help because obviously back in the group they weren’t going to pull me in. But I had to go as one thing I know about Dom is that even if he’s not fit, he can still sprint. If I’d left it to a sprint with him, he would have absolutely had me.”

Mayho is not used to finishing anywhere other than first in this race, but far from being dejected at being runner-up, he was delighted to see Langley claim his first victory.

“It’s great to be around and watch these guys coming up,” Mayho said.

“It’s one thing for the young guys to get strong and train hard but it’s the race mentality that is the hardest to gain, so it’s fun to see them thinking about how to race and not just riding as hard as they can.

“Anybody can just ride hard but, it takes a lot to be able to think to win the race, so watching them listen and put a plan into action is amazing.”

With Langley and Mayho both riding for the VT Construction team, life was hard for third-placed finisher Dylan Eiselt, who was effectively racing solo with his strongest Winners Edge team-mates, including two-times champion Matt Boys, not competing.

“My team wasn’t here, so it was three against one,” Eiselt said.

“They strategised for Jackson to go around me, kill me and then they just pedalled easy off my back wheel. If I had eased off, the group behind would have caught us and they wouldn’t care because their team-mate already had won, so I had to keep up the power.

“But we’re all good friends and that is the way racing goes sometimes.”

In the battle of champions in the women’s race, Panzy Olander beat Caitlin Conyers, a three-times winner and Nicloe Mitchell, a four-times champion, to win the race for a second time.

Faced with some legendary competition, Olander held no expectations of victory as she pushed off from the start line.

“I wasn’t full of confidence when I saw the field and when they told us that we were going to do it with the men, I didn’t know what to think,” Olander said.

“I had no idea where Caitlin was in her fitness or cycling and Nicole is usually in a different category than me, so I don't really race with her except for on a Saturday group ride, so I really didn’t know where I stood.

“ We got to Five Star Island, I looked around and I saw Caitlin staring me in the eyes, which made me think ‘oh, Lord, I’m in trouble’ but I’ve always wanted to race her in May 24 and I was so happy that she did come out and put in a huge effort.

Mitchell, who was racing for the first time since 2022, was pleased with her effort after revealing in the build-up that she was not in the same form as when at her peak.

“I just had a lot of fun,” she said. “It was a little bit of a surprise last night when they told us that it was going to be a combined start with the men as that changed the dynamic quite a bit.

“I was just trying to keep up with some of the best guys on the island and there are some really strong riders. I’m happy I made it to Burnt House Hill with them as that is probably the farthest I’ve made it in a while, but I had a good time.”