Great End for Clinton as he claims a comfortable victory in the Isle of Man

The 45-mile mountain bike event from the Point of Ayre in the north to Cregneash in the south of the island attracted 1,700 competitors, with Clinton riding for Kenilworth-based Mike Vaughan Cycles along with Brian Tew and Rob Foote.

Having finished third on his first two attempts and seen his 2012 attempt marred by punctures which eventually saw him trail in sixth, Clinton was among the favourites for the event and set out among the first 100 riders two minutes ahead of the rest of the field.

The group set off at a sedate pace confident the gap would be sufficient to stay away for the 12 miles on the road before the first climb.

Jumping off the front a few miles before the riders went go off-road, Manxman Ed Perry gained a minute on the peloton by the foot of the climb.

Knowing Perry could do some damage, Clinton went to the front of the group and soon had the chasers spread out over the first gruelling ascent.

He was joined by four-time winner and Olympian Nick Craig and the duo caught Perry for the next section of the course.

The three were together as they hit the first checkpoint at Brandywell and were soon joined by Manxman Elliot Baxter - a five-time winner - as Craig slipped away off the front.

Reaching the next checkpoint at St Johns - a two-mile road section - the four leading riders were back together again as they approached the next climb out of Patrick.

Putting the pressure on, Craig eased out a gap on the following trio, with Clinton attempting to bridge the ten-second deficit by the Arrasy Forest descent.

This effort would see the Manx duo put under strain, with Clinton catching Craig at the foot of the infamous pipeline section, at which point his rival punctured.

This left Clinton alone at the front of the field with an every increasing gap over Perry and Baxter.

After several miles out on his own, Clinton had pulled out a 2min 50sec gap approaching the final five miles.

Barring a disaster, it was a home run for Clinton as he relaxed on the final descents before hitting the few miles of road and the sting in the tail to the finish; the climb to Cregneash.

With no pressure, he cruised up to the top of the climb, crossing the line in 3hr 2min, almost two minutes clear of Perry, with Baxter in third.

After picking up the £1000 first prize, Clinton said that despite the margin of victory it had been far from easy.

“It was a tough race, especially due to the very wet and muddy conditions on the mountains,” said Clinton.

“It was an unusual race with there being four riders together at the half-way point - the norm is for there to be only one or two riders.

“I’ll be back next year to defend my title - that’s for sure.”