Garth Thomson powered his way to a comfortable victory in the opening race of the Conrad?s Mountain Bike Series at Hog Bay Park on Sunday.

In drizzly weather, Thomson took control of the race on the long uphill section on the first of the eight laps and never looked back as he finished in a blistering time of 34 minutes and three seconds.

Last year?s series runner-up Neil de ste Croix took a hard-fought second after edging out national champion Dave Padega by just 45 seconds with a finishing time of 35.36.

De ste Croix started strong and managed to stay close to Thomson for the first couple of laps but as the race progressed he faded and in the end was just able to hold off Padega.

Grant Goudge caused a stir with his strong fourth place finish, cutting more than 10 minutes off the time he recorded for the same race last year.

With a time of 37.12, Goudge held off a surprised Geoff Wing who finished fifth, a minute behind.

In the male veterans? category the competition was tight. Paulo Medeiros played his chips early by setting a fast pace during the early going while his rivals were content to sit back and wait for the last few laps to make their move.

However, Medeiros? gamble paid off with Fred Swan unable to find enough to close the small gap between the two front runners. Medeiros took the victory in 27.50 with Swan just behind in 28.34.

Last year?s points winner and national champion, Tim Palmer, suffered some mechanical difficulties but did well to hold off newcomer Edwin Jordan and Ian Fox by just 10 seconds. Palmer finished in 30.23, Jordan in 30:33 with Fox right on his wheel just one second behind.

In the novices? division Travis Cooper let his competitors know that he means business with a comfortable win over Mel Caines, better known for his abilities on the squash court.

Craig Eckman finished a further 15 seconds behind Caines.

In the boys? 15/16 age group Tim Fox took a convincing victory over Geoffrey Burns and Thomas Godfrey who were left to sprint it out for second place.

The boys? 13/14 saw Marc Smith take first place over Alex Godfrey. Nathan Amaral beat out Forrest Wineinger and in the boys? 10 and under Sarieko Thomas finished ahead of Neil Dante Wilson.

The ladies? field saw Sheila Ruse take honours among the veterans and Sarah Jordan win the novices? division.

The girls? under-10 division was won by Elizabeth Jordan.

Next race in the series takes place this Sunday at Admiralty House Park, starting at 9 a.m. Racers should arrive by 8.30 for registration and an opportunity to ride a lap of the course.

Anyone interested in finding out more about mountain bike racing in Bermuda can visit bermudabicycle.org. or call Neil de ste Croix on 292 6528 before 9.00 p.m. on week nights.