SINGAPORE'S first major professional cycling race since the 1990s ended in a three-way sprint to the finish as Australian David Pell mastered the wet conditions to clinch the Elite Criterium title at the inaugural OCBC Cycle Singapore yesterday.

Pell, who races for the Savings and Loans Cycling Team, pedalled home in 1hr 28min 16sec to clinch the top prize of US$12,500 (S$19,000), edging out Alan Marangoni of CSF Group Navigare and Garmin-Slipstream's Ricardo van der Velde by a single bike length.

It was the perfect finale to a thrilling 35-lap race that saw 65 international riders battle it out on part of the same circuit that hosted the world's first night Formula One race last September.

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