Teenage cyclist Dominique Mayho of the Winner’s Edge team reaffirmed his reputation as the Island’s top rider with his first triumph in the annual Sinclair Packwood Memorial Race yesterday.The Team Madison rider, who has been beaten just once this year, continued his superb season by holding off veteran cyclist Mark Hatherely, also of Winner’s Edge, who came second.In third position, finishing someway behind the front two was Team Tokio’s Richard O’Connell.Despite taking up competitive cycling just six weeks ago, Joanna Shillington of Team Madison was the fastest overall female, finishing ½,000th of a second ahead of Winner’s Edge’s Nicole Richardson. Fast Forward Bicycle Works’ Wenda Roberts was the third female.Mayho, who came second in last year’s race, said it was a special feeling to win the most popular cycling competition in Bermuda.“For the spectators, it’s the biggest race of the season, so it feels pretty good to win today,” said Bermuda’s Junior Male Athlete of the Year.“I knew I was the favourite but I had to back it up. I’m used to being favourite now and I just treated it like any other race in my mind.”Mayho praised his Team Madison team-mates for executing their race strategy, which enabled him to attack the course from Burnt House Hill onwards.“At the start my team-mates really drove the race and made it really hard so I could attack on Burnt House Hill and no one could really go with me,” he said.“From Burnt House Hill, Mark and I led the race but I got him towards the line. Mark has pushed me hard all season and we kept each other going.”Although the 13-mile race is a shorter course than Mayho’s preferred distance, he admitted he felt the strain slightly at Bamboo Gate in Paget.“My heart rate was really high at Bamboo Gate so I just tried to calm down a bit. I got it back down and then it was perfect.”Mayho headed straight to the airport almost immediately after yesterday’s race, with the youngster competing in this weekend’s Killington Stage Race in the US.Also racing in Killington will be Hatherely, who believes Mayho has the potential to be as ‘good as he wants to be’.“Going up against Dominique well, he’s half my age and it’s cool for him to win,” Hatherely said, who along with Mayho will be hoping to qualify for this year’s Caribbean Cycling Championships in Killington.“I’d love to win this race one day but I’m delighted to have pushed Dominique.“We ride a lot together and he pretty much gives me encouragement to keep going. At City Hall he made the break and I couldn’t keep with him.“Dominique is a real talent and it’s really up to him how far he wants to go; he has the ability and natural talent. I hope he stays interested in the sport because he definitely has what it takes.”A surprised Joanna Shillington admitted she had no expectations ahead of yesterday’s race and merely hoped to stay with the leading pack.“It’s very exciting, I’ve never cycled this race before,” she said. “I’ve been racing competitively for about five or six weeks, so I’ve done two criterions and a Grand Prix.“I had no expectations, I just wanted to hang on and not drop off.”In the junior category, Winner’s Edge’s Justin Ferreira placed first ahead of Team Tokio pair Daelan Richardson and Deshi Smith.Around 70 riders competed in yesterday’s race.