CAMBRIDGE timed their fifth successive Boat Race win to perfection. With unexpected ease, the light blues found the form that had been so elusive earlier in the week and waited until the final mile before they raced through an Oxford crew too spent to appreciate the last laugh.

Little in the build up had suggested such a sharp performance. Moving British Olympian Alex Storey up to the seven seat and Ethan Ayers into the middle of the boat had been preceded by an unpromising mid week defeat to their reserves, but from the start of Saturday's race the new combination was rowing the better of the two crews into a stiff headwind.

Oxford held a quarter of a length lead for the first mile but with blades clashing and Cambridge cox Kevin Whyman forcing them wide at Balms Elms, they failed to pull away on their long Surrey bend. Cambridge - with former Methody and Irish junior international oarsman, Roger Pim aboard - began to make gains as the race entered its last quarter and struck out for the line rating 37.

A two length finish in Dublin's own varsity head to head next weekend may be more difficult to repeat. UCD shied away from revealing their colours at Dublin Head of the River on Saturday, and the decision proved well justified when the Trinity eight put their task in perspective by finish ing second, just seven seconds behind Neptune's first crew.

Neptune coach Peter Buckley whose selection saw the return of Terry Smith and Martin Murphy for the race, later singled out the Trinity result as an indication of a close title race to come. Denis Crowley may be rueing his defection to Buckley's squad after a move down to the second eight was salted by finishing in fourth place behind his old club, Commercial.

With Emmet O'Brien swapping his scull for the stroke seat, Commercial went out at a very high rate and pulled off a result that left their Danish two time world champion Thomas Crofibuck clearly impressed by the boat's potential. "There was a lot of power there for a crew that has only been together for two weeks, and I think it's already shown more improvement than any other boat I have ever rowed in.

In the women's open eight division, the UCD varsity crew which rows the Corcoran Cup next Sunday were without Vanessa Lawrenson and Debbie Stack and suffered their second defeat in a month. Racing a new Eton Empacher eight, Neptune carved out a 13 second advantage without finding top gear.