rg1 The roller coaster world of professional cycling has sent Elliot Hubbard for another loop.

Three weeks into what was supposed to be his second season on the European tour, Hubbard instead finds himself this week in the United States after joining a top New-Jersey based club.

The move comes after he walked away from an apparent agreement with Cedico, the Belgian team he had excitedly joined shortly after being released by his Italian team two weeks earlier.

Hubbard was yesterday en route to Arizona for spring training after signing a contract with Navigators on Wednesday.

His coach and manager Greg Hopkins would not release details of the contract nor would he comment on what specifically prompted him to bolt Belgium.

"The contract was not what he expected, put it that way,'' said Hopkins.

The original deal had been brokered through "a third party'' but Hubbard did not read the fine print until he arrived at the team's base in Charlebois.

He baulked at signing and, through previous overtures made to several US teams, was offered a better package by Navigators, Hopkins said, and flew to New Jersey last weekend.

"At the end of the day, Elliot has to look out for what's in his best interest and his future in the sport,'' said Hopkins.

He blamed the language barrier and the distance involved for the mix-up with Cedico. "I have no doubt the people who represented him acted in good faith and in Elliot's best interest,'' he said. "In fact, they were the ones who arranged for him to get the opportunity in Europe in the first place.'' Ironically, Hubbard had received more lucrative offers from US teams after being squeezed out of his spot on the Italian club, AKI-Safi, but opted to move to Belgium for the more demanding European circuit.

With the collapse of several European teams, dozens of high-quality riders have been left scrambling for positions, usually in their home country.

Hopkins said his 24-year-old friend was "very enthusiastic'' about joining his new team and had put the latest setback behind him.

"A lot of people would have fallen apart but not Elliot,'' he said. "Not only does he have a lot of physical attributes (but) what a lot of people don't realise is that one of the things that makes him such a good rider is that he is so strong mentally.'' Navigators already had a full complement of riders but arranged for additional sponsorship in order to accommodate Hubbard, Hopkins said. He will likely miss the first race of the season next month and his position on the team will be determined based on his performance over the next few weeks.

"I certainly don't believe it will be long before his strengths are realised (by Navigators),'' said Hopkins. "He's in very good company but based on his performance as an amateur (in the Eastern US three years ago) and his added maturity and strength, he will do very well over there.'' In Italy, Hubbard, as a rookie, was assigned the role of a worker for lead riders on the team.

"The US isn't Europe but it's still a high standard of racing ... I believe this is a blessing in disguise,'' Hopkins said.

Hubbard missed the first race on February 11 in Belgium but trained with his old team-mates.