MARK MERCIER showed his rivals a clean pair of heels to storm to victory in the opening race of the RBC All-Terrain Challenge. The traditional first event of the annual week-long series took place on Saturday on the roads and paths of Saumarez Park with a record field of 70 greeting the starter.

The 4km race boasted three previous winners but it was the young pretender, Mercier, who took the honours.

He broke away immediately from the start, setting a searing pace which his rivals were unable to match, and led from gun to tape.

Multiple previous winner Paul Ingrouille came through strongly to take second place ahead of last year’s winner Dave Dyke.

In the women’s race, Martine Scholes won quite comfortably from triathlete Gail Merrien, but there was a good battle for third as Elyse Dandeker just held off Colette Andrews.

Yesterday’s event was the gruelling eight-mile cliff path race from Icart featuring in the last 3km the steps at Moulin Huet and Saints Harbour and Mercier again dominated.

The youngster, who suffered a disastrous fall in the same race last year, beat Dyke by over half a minute.

That finish was good enough to take Dyke ahead of Dave Holmes and Ingrouille into second overall in what promises to be another interesting tussle for podium places.

In the women’s race, Scholes struggled on the severe climbs out of Moulin Huet and up from Saints Harbour and only managed to finish 20 seconds in front of Merrien, who remarkably had done a triathlon in the morning.

Scholes nevertheless holds a lead of nearly a minute.

Tonight’s event is the Telegraph Bay hill climb.