Teenager Ricky Sousa jr became the youngest ever champion of the Sinclair Packwood Memorial cycling race yesterday morning after pipping 2004 winner Wayne Scott in a desperate sprint to the line on a packed Cedar Avenue.

Leading the fast and furious 12-mile race by about four bike lengths with only 30 metres remaining, Scott?s victory hopes were cruelly dashed after his bike chain became disconnected when his back wheel ploughed over a small bump ? a mechanical fault which allowed his gifted 15-year-old adversary to reel him in over the final few yards.

In a race which all the frontrunners agreed was quicker and more physically demanding than last year, defending champion Khamari Greaves took third place, leaving himself with a little too much to do during the manic finish.

?It was very hard out there,? said Sousa, who also won the IBC Front Street Race in March and is tipped to be the next top rider in local cycling.

?The race was a lot faster than last time and there were a lot more attacks from various riders, particularly on some of the hills. It?s such a short race that you have no time to work your way into it ? you have to be warm and firing from the start, otherwise you have no chance.

?I felt good though. I sat off the front for most of the race, but I made sure I kept myself close because I knew I would have a chance in the sprint. And thankfully everything worked out in my favour.?

Sousa, who attends school in New Hampshire, revealed he had been training solidly for months leading up to the most prestigious cycling race on the domestic calendar and knew coming into it that he had a strong chance of victory.

?I was back home in March and won a couple of races and in New Hampshire I had a good run at training and felt in really good shape coming into today. So I knew I was in with a shout ? it was just a question of staying in the hunt.?

Scott, meanwhile, was left cursing his bad luck having been in pole position to take the glory.

?It was my race ? I?d got myself into a great position where I knew I was going to win,? he said.

?Speaking to (national cycling coach) Greg Hopkins beforehand, we said that any sort of mechanical problem might make the difference in a race this short, and my chain coming off right at the last minute was the difference between first and second today.

?But there?s nothing I can do about it. I did everything that I had to do to win, but it just didn?t work out. Congratulations to Ricky ? he rode very well today. He?s still very young but he is doing a lot of training overseas and has the potential to be a top class rider in the future.?

Beaten champion Greaves, a member of the same RMF Fit Tech team as Sousa, was philosophical about having lost his title.

?If I couldn?t win it, then I?m happy that one of my team-mates did,? he said.

?Ricky fully deserved it and I?m very pleased for him. All that work he is doing at college is obviously paying off because he rode a fantastic race today.

?I have not quite done as much coming into this race as I did last year ? but I still felt pretty strong, even if it was a lot quicker from the start.

?I tried to stay in behind the front two, but when it came down to the sprint they were just that little bit stronger.?

Only one woman took part in the race this year, with veteran Lynn Patchett, last year?s Marathon Derby champion, finishing an impressive 11th out of 30 riders.