ROSE HALL, St James — Seventeen-year-old Shaquille Sinclair created the second straight upset as he out-sprinted Marlo Rodman to cross the line first in the National Cycling Road Race Trials yesterday in Rose Hall as the two-day event came to a dramatic end.

The teenager, who had last month won the Blue Mountain time trials, timed his sprint perfectly to beat the experienced Rodman after the nine-lap 65-mile race.

A group of about eight riders broke away from the pack early and dictated the pace, exchanging the lead until the final sprint over the last 100 metres.

After starting under a blistering mid-morning sun, the race ended under cool conditions after dark clouds rolled in early in the afternoon, making the conditions more bearable for the riders.

The win was also a good payback for the faith of the Jamaica Cycling Federation’s first vice-president and meet organiser, Iona Wynter Parker, who told the Observer she had placed Sinclair and Oshane Williams in the elite men’s race to give them experience for international competition coming up later in the year.

The course started at Whitter Village and turned off the highway into the hills through the golf course at Half Moon, through the Spring Farm community where they encountered several steep climbs before returning to the highway and back to the start.

This was the second straight loss for the experienced Rodman, regarded as the island’s best cyclist. On Saturday he was also beaten in the time trials by Montegonian Michael Daley, another surprise.

Sinclair, however, told the Observer he was not surprised by his win, saying that while hills were his specialty, he had been working on his sprinting in the last month.

He said the tactics by riders to breakaway from the pack early in the race had given him some problems, but he dug in and stayed with the lead pack from the first lap and set himself up for the finish.

Sinclair was named the Junior Under-17 Champion, while Rodman despite his loss was named the Elite Men’s Champion.

Tinga Turner, who was second in the time trials on Saturday, was second in the elite men section while Jason Briscoe was third.

Williams was second in the Juniors 17 to 18 section and Dervin Myers third.

Nineteen-year-old Lucea resident Dahlia Palmer, the sole female competitor of the nearly 60 participants who started the race, won her second national title of the weekend extending her streak to four years.

Jermar Brissett won the Junior 16 and Under section over 35 miles, beating Owen Cardozo Jnr, and André Jackson, while former national representative Cleveland Sharpe won the Masters race ahead of Wayne Smith and Conrad Barr.

Michael Clarke is the Super Masters champion ahead of time trail winner Howard Ward, while Christopher McLean won the category five title beating Brian Williams and Khary Brown and Roland Moore Jnr.