Action was fast and furious in mountain biking's season finale on Sunday as Neil de ste Croix emerged triumphant in the Winner's Edge National Championships.

Although Mother Nature was kind on the day, repeated showers on Saturday had left sections of the Ferry Point Park course very slick.

But it was de ste Croix who handled the conditions best as he locked horns from the start with 2004 national champion Dave Padega.

The two riders waged a close battle for the entire eight laps with de ste Croix finally passing his rival going into the last climb of the day and holding on to take the Open title.

After a fast start, de ste Croix said the pace settled down after about four laps when the two riders were sure that points leader Garth Thomson was not going to spring any surprises, as he struggled to recover from a bronchial infection.

“I slowed the pace a little to avoid any accidents and Dave and I traded the lead a few times,” said de ste Croix.

However, with a few hundred yards remaining Padega attempted to pull away.

“I jumped onto Dave's wheel as soon as he surged and then passed him as we turned into the final climb behind the Martello Tower,” recalled de ste Croix.

Padega said he “gave it everything to get to the climb first and was then toasted for the climb”.

De ste Croix finished in a time of one hour, 28 minutes and five seconds, a mere nine seconds ahead of Padega.

The win earned him the points needed to secure the Conrad's Point Series title ahead of Thomson whose spirited performance was good enough for third place, 50 seconds ahead of Grant Goudge who put in a creditable performance to solidify his position as the season's most improved rider.

Jeff Wing finished fifth followed by Rolf Runkel and Connor Burns.

Despite snapping his new bike frame and having to exchange bikes during the race, 16-year-old Matthew Godfrey hung in to finish in eighth position.

Race sponsor Paulo Medeiros took full advantage of title challenger Fred Swan's flat tyre to ride away from the rest of the veterans' field not only to take the national title but also to secure the points series championship.

Medeiros finished six long laps of the course in 1:17:29 with Mannard Packwood a distant second in 1:23:12. Ian Fox held off Edwin Jordan to finish in third place.

Despite his failure to finish, Swan accumulated enough points during the season to finish in second place with Packwood taking third.

Lone female Open rider Kim McMullen demonstrated why she has been selected to represent Bermuda at the Island Games, scheduled for July in the Shetland Islands, riding flawlessly over eight long laps to finish in 1:32.

Once again it was Mark Hatherley who dominated the Novices' division to finish over two minutes ahead of Travis Cooper over seven short laps.

Newcomer and series sponsor Charles Dunstan placed a creditable third ahead of Conrad's co-owner Jeff Amaral. Berwin Thomas took fifth place ahead of the much improved John Wineinger.

One of the day's big losers was Nigel Godfrey as his failure to finish allowed Wineinger to take third place in the point series behind Travis Cooper in second and Hatherley in the top spot.

In the boys' 15-16 division Ricky Sousa jr won the national title but it was second-placed Tim Fox rode away with the series title.

Sousa finished six long laps of the course in 1:17:25, over five minutes ahead of Fox.

Andalyn Swan made a rare appearance to win the Female Novices' division ahead of Sarah Jordan, who had already secured sufficient points to lift the series title.

Series winner in the 13-14 boys, Marc Smith, rode five laps of the short course in 47:07 ahead of Alex Godfrey in second place. Smith won every race he entered during the season.

Young Nathan Amaral saw off Forrest Wineinger to take the boys' 11-12 national title as well as the series title.

Neil Dante Wilson again showed that he will be a rider to watch in the future by taking first place in the boys' under-10 division with Keishun Smith in second place and Mark Godfrey third. The trio finished the points series in the same order.

Not deterred by being the only girl in the 10 and under division, the diminutive Elizabeth Jordan rode four laps of the extra short course in 42:55.

While the season is now officially over, riders will await final selection for the Island Games.