Three of Bermuda's Commonwealth Games hopefuls, Kris Hedges, Steve Millington and Wayne Scott came through a warm-up race in Virginia with flying colours.

With the cycling season barely underway the Island's top riders are busy travelling far and wide as they try to meet the tough qualifying standards set by the Bermuda Bicycle Association in order to be recommended to the Bermuda Olympic Association for selection for the Games, scheduled to take place in July in Manchester, England.

On a demanding rolling hill course over 70 miles, the three riders lined up against 93 of the areas top cyclists for the Jefferson Cup Road Race and when the dust settled, Hedges, riding for his full-time team Snow Valley, was part of a nine man break-away.

"As one of the designated riders I was able to sit in for quite a bit of the race and things went pretty much to plan for the team (Snow Valley)," he said. "When the ultimate break came towards the end, Mark (Ernsting) and I were there.

"I made a move on the last hill, then in the sprint Mark got second and I was seventh."

Scott, was part of the field sprint behind the leaders and finished a creditable seventh in the sprint to take 16th place overall.

Riding in unfamiliar territory compared to the generally flat, but fast Florida racing scene where he is based, the Bermudian knew that this event would be a good testing ground to see the results of his pre-season preparation where he worked hard on his climbing skills.

"I was really pleased today. Last year I would not have made it over the course with the leaders, but today I was making some moves, trying to get in breaks and felt strong," he said.

Hedges also noted an improvement.

"Wayne was very active in the early stages," he said. "I saw him working off the front, chasing things down. This course does not have a hill in it like the Manchester course, but Wayne is much stronger than he was last year."

The only Bermuda-based cyclist, Millington rode a controlled race in the opinion of Hedges.

"Steve looked very comfortable," he said. "It was his first race overseas this season and he looked really smooth and is a good climber. If he makes it to Manchester he will be very useful on that type of course. I have seen the profile this week and there is a long steep climb of about a mile - it would suit his style of riding".

National Coach Greg Hopkins was pleased with the riders performances, but said there was still a lot to do before the Games.

"They rode very well at the weekend. It was good to have them all in the same race. We need to see them together, even if Kris is riding for Snow Valley, because as the Bermuda Team leader his input is vitally important," he said. "Steve has more races planned with Kris over the next month as he knows it is essential to race at this level overseas.

"This was a big test for Wayne and he was under a lot of pressure, but came through it well.

"There is a long way to go but all our riders are doing everything they can to make the standard, they are 100 percent committed and very dedicated."