Kaden Hopkins produced an explosive turn of foot to steal a march on his rivals and win a highly competitive Bermuda Roleurs Road Race by more than five minutes yesterday.

The Winners Edge seized his moment on the second of four laps in the 44-mile race and rode solo in impressive fashion to cross the finish line in 1hr 43min 46sec.

Team-mate Alexander Miller put in another strong performance, finishing alone in 1:49:22, with Liam Flannery closing fast on the last lap to round out the top three in 1:49:46.

Sixty-five riders in four categories tackled a very challenging course on a blustery day that took the riders west on Middle Road from the start adjacent to TN Tatem Middle School to Barnes Corner, then left on to South Road eventually turning left on to Middle Road by Paget Post Office and back to the start.

Another strong women’s field would see Caitlin Conyers, clearly back to her early-season form taking victory over 33 miles. Conyers bided her time and covered several attacks from the rest of the riders in what has developed into an intriguing category.

The Bicycle Works rider finally made her move on the last climb up Elbow Beach Hill, opening up a gap that would see her crossing the line in 1:35:09, some 24 seconds ahead of Ashley Couper, of VT Madison. In an exciting sprint finish, Nicole Mitchell, of Winners Edge, outduelled Maddie Durkin to take third in 1:35:40.

The B category event, also racing over four laps, got off to a fast start with a number of teams clearly keen to make the race hard in the early stages. Eventually the continual attacking took its toll and, despite the majority of the field of 24 riders still in with a chance on the last lap, Gnosis rider Alan Mooney would prove to be the strongest at the finish, taking a well-earned victory in 1:52:36.

Sounding a warning for the future, 15-year-old Cameron Morris, of VT Madison, impressed by coming in second six seconds later and Adam Kirk, of Winners Edge, was third in 1:52:46.

In the three-lap C category, Ricky Smith returned to the winner’s circle after making sure he was near the front of the action throughout. Renowned as a smart sprinter, often coming from behind for his many wins, this time he left nothing to chance and took a two-second lead over the line in front of BRCC rider Zachery Ziegler in 1:30:45. Chris Nusum was third in 1:31:09.