start on Sunday morning with Steve Sterritt winning against a record 29 entrants over a technical three quarter mile course at Admiralty House Park.

With last year's national champion Milton Hill and top rider Duncan Simons missing from the field, pre-race favourite status fell on the shoulders of Commonwealth Games rider Sterritt, and he didn't disappoint.

After overcoming a dropped chain on the first lap, he overtook early race leaders Peter Matcham and Brian Steinhoff by the third lap and continued to extend his lead for the remainder of the 10 laps in the open category, winning by over four minutes in a time of 43.38.

Matcham and Steinhoff were left to battle it out for second and third spots with Steinhoff proving too strong in the final laps, finishing 36 seconds up on Matcham with newcomer Paul Livingstone coming in fourth, another six minutes back.

In an encouraging first for mounting biking in Bermuda, three women competed for honours over seven laps with Karen Madeiros taking top spot after surviving an early crash.

She finished in a time of 53.16 and was closely followed by promising junior rider Ashley Robinson Roberts. Joanne Sweeny was unable to complete the race after suffering a crash on the penultimate lap.

In the 15-16 junior category, Nick Taylor prevailed in a time of 26.53 in a tight race that saw all competitors finish within three minutes of each other over five laps. Chris Conway took second in 27.44 with Chris Astwood third and John Neal close behind in fourth.

The 13-14 juniors saw another closely contested race with Matthew Herring edging out Geoffrey Smith by 43 seconds in a time of 26.53 for the five laps.

Corey Smith took third place honours with James Adams coming in fourth, two minutes back.

First time racer Ricky Sousa Jr rode to a fine victory in the 12 and under category over three laps, beating out Tim Fox by just 49 seconds with Aaron Fenn finishing in third.

The next races in the series take place at Hog Bay Park on Sunday morning, starting with a downhill race (.35 miles) at 8.45 and followed by a full cross country race at approximately 9.30. More information on the season schedule and course layouts are available on the Winners Edge bulletin board.