Cambridge today justified their pre-race tag as favourites by winning the 153rd Boat Race, sponsored by Xchanging.

Under bright blue skies and with a slight tailwind, it was the Light Blues who won the gruelling four and a quarter mile race from Putney to Mortlake, taking victory by one and a quarter lengths from Oxford.

Cambridge crossed the line in 17 minutes 49 seconds, with Oxford finishing in 17 minutes and 52 seconds.

After winning the toss and choosing the Surrey station, it was Oxford who threw down the gauntlet, going out hard from the start. They had established a slight lead by the Mile Post and looked set to be in a good position to take advantage of the big Surrey Bend.

But umpire Peter Bridge had to warn the Oxford cox, Nick Brodie, a number of times as the boats came perilously close to clashing oars as the crews pulled hard through Crab Tree Reach, passed the Harrod’s Depot and strained towards Hammersmith Bridge.

As they passed beneath the bridge, Oxford were still marginally ahead - maybe by half a length - and the crew members’ friends and family in a following launch celebrated the slight advantage with encouraging cheers and raised fists.

But the Dark Blues couldn’t quite shake off Cambridge who began to find their rhythm under the calm leadership of cox Rebbeca Dowbiggin and the steady pace of stroke Thorsten Engelmann.

By the time the boats drew level with the Chiswick Eyot – the small island which separates the racers from the Middlesex bank at this stage of the Tideway – Cambridge were back level.

With 10 minutes gone in the race, it was the Light Blues who now began to forge ahead down the Chiswick Reach.

Going past the Bandstand - three miles into the race - and with Barnes Bridge in sight, they began to put clear water between the two boats for the first time in the race.

With the advantage of the final bend to come, the race was now theirs to lose and they drove home their advantage, passing under Barnes Bridge to take the middle water and extend their lead to almost a length and a half.

Yet even then, Oxford weren’t beaten. Cox Nick Brodie rallied his troops for one last effort and, with Chiswick Bridge and the finish line ahead of them, they began to close the gap.

It was all to no avail, as Cambridge crossed the line to win by one and a quarter lengths, the Light Blues’ first win since 2004 and their first under head coach Duncan Holland.

It was also the first time that a woman had coxed the winning crew since 2000.

Afterwards Cambridge cox Rebecca Dowbiggin said she never doubted her crew would come up trumps. “It was a really hard race, there wasn’t a second to relax. It was a very full-on race, right to the line," she said. "I was always confident."

Tom James, Cambridge President, added: “We were in our rhythm right from the start. It was harder than I thought, they were pushing so hard. We knew it was going to be tough, but it was relentless. Having lost three times, it’s a great relief not to be in that situation again.”

Ante Kusurin, Oxford’s Croatian stroke, said: “We died there, we left our hearts out there. We fought to the end and I’m proud of the guys. Cambridge had a great race and I would like to congratulate them for that.”

Split times: Cambridge - Oxford

Mile Post: 3.49 - 3.48

Hammersmith Bridge: 6.58 - 6.57

Chiswick Steps: 10.55 - 10.55 1/2

Barnes Bridge: 14.46 - 14.50

Finish: 17.49 - 17.52

See ‘The Crews’ for further quotes from Boat Race rowers.