For the third year in a row, 19-year-old Caleb Ewan (Subaru NSWIS) beat some of Australia's best bike riders in the Mitchelton Bay Cycling Classic when the youngster got a small gap going into the final corner in the fast criterium in Williamstown that brought the four-race series to an end. Holding his gap all the way to the line, the youngster beat Brenton Jones (Procon Telematics') and Zakkari Dempster (SASI) to take the win while Jones narrowly held off Dempster to claim the overall victory by just one single point.

In 2012, the cycling world was overwhelmed by 17-year-old Caleb Ewan who beat some of Australia's fastest sprinters twice in the fast Mitchelton Bay Cycling Classic which traditionally opens the Australian summer season. One year later, the youngster impressed even more when he won one race on his way to claiming the overall win in the prestigious series.

This year expectations for Ewan were high but the 19-year-old got his race off to a less than ideal start when a training crash left him a bit battered for the first race on Thursday. After three races, he was still empty-handed but had placed consistently enough to still be in contention for the overall win on the eve of the final race, the fast criterium in Williamstown.

His title defence ultimately failed as he had to settle for 3rd overall but he ended the series on a high by winning a race for the third year in a row. Having been badly positioned for the final sprint, he rode strategically beyond his years to anticipate the lead-out trains that jostled for position for the bunch kick.

Going into the final corner with 300m to go, Ewan jumped and immediately opened up a gap to the main field. While the remaining sprinters and his overall rivals battled hard to get back to the young talent, he comfortably soloed across the line to take his fourth win in the series.

The other big winner was another Australian youngster, 22-year-old Brenton Jones. Having gone mostly unnoticed into the event, the youngster had ridden a smart race throughout the first three days, getting into the decisive breakaway on day 1 and consistently placing himself near the top in the next two races.

Going into the final day, he found himself in 2nd overall, just one point behind leader Zakkari Dempster, but with Luke Durbridge (Orica-GreenEDGE), Matthew Goss (Orica-GreenEDGE) and Ewan all within shooting distance, it was necessary for the youngster to stay attentive in the hectic finale. The number of contenders were reduced when Durbridge didn't start due to a throat infection but there were still several rivals for Jones in his quest to take the overall win in the series.

While Ewan was riding away with the win, Jones and Dempster battled hard for the overall triumph, holding off one of the world's best sprinters, Goss, who could only manage 5th. Jones narrowly held off Dempster to take 2nd on the day and with a two-point difference between 2nd and 3rd place, that result was just enough for him to dethrone Dempster. Jones emerged as the most consistent rider in the series and took the overall win which is by far the biggest victory of his short career.

The race was dominated by a two-rider breakaway consisting of Marc Williams (Budget Forklifts) and Harry Carpenter (SASI Cycling) but the pair never had a bigger gap than 10-15 seconds. The bunch sprint was never in doubt but with 15 minutes left, a big crash forced the peloton to take a lap out, with all the major contenders surviving the carnage unscathed.

With three laps to go, all was set for a thrilling sprint and as they neared the final corner, a badly positioned Ewan appeared to have lost all hopes of winning. However, he made a smart move to deny his rivals the win and move himself into third overall while Jones' 2nd place was enough to make him the big winner on the day.

Result:

1. Caleb Ewan (Subaru NSWIS) 55.38

2. Brenton Jones (Procon Telematics')

3. Zakkari Dempster (SASI)

4. Tom Scully (Total Rush/Hyster Racing)

5. Matthew Goss (Orica-GreenEDGE)

6. Graham Briggs (Rapha Condor JLT)

7. Leigh Howard (Orica-GreenEDGE)

8. Felix English (Rapha Condor JLT)

9. Samuel Witmitz (Budget Forklifts)

10. Jesse Kerrisson (Budget Forklifts)

General classification:

1. Brenton Jones (Procon Telematics') 30

2. Zakkari Dempster (SASI) 29

3. Caleb Ewan (Subaru NSWIS) 28

4. Matthew Goss (Orica-GreenEDGE) 23

5. Leigh Howard (Orica-GreenEDGE) 18

6. Luke Durbridge (Orica-GreenEDGE) 18

7. Felix English (Rapha Condor JLT) 16

8. Tom Scully (Total Rush/Hyster Racing) 15

9. Graham Briggs (Rapha Condor JLT) 15

10. Patrick Shaw (Satalyst) 10

Sprints classification:

1. Felix English (Rapha Condor JLT) 16

2. Luke Durbridge (Orica-GreenEDGE) 13

3. Marc Williams (Budget Forklifts) 8

4. Harry Carpenter (SASI) 6

5. Patrick Shaw (Satalyst) 5

Teams classification:

1. Orica-GreenEDGE 59

2. SASI 39

3. Rapha-Condor JLT 31

4. Procon Telematics' 30

5. Subaru NSWIS  28