 By Chiswick Eyot, Oxford accelerated away from the Light Blues and were two lengths clear before a spurt from Cambridge ahead of Barnes Bridge reduced the lead to a length and a quarter by the time the crews passed below the bridge.With the bend in the river in their favour, and pushing hard, Cambridge slowly gained on the Dark Blues but could not level terms.Oxford passed the finishing post with a lead of three-quarters of a length in a time of 20 minutes 54 seconds.