Injury has sidelined their main hope but Bermuda?s team for the Caribbean Cycling Championships are brimming with optimism.

The seven-member unit anticipate returning with as much success as they reaped last year despite the late loss of intended team leader Kris Hedges for this weekend?s annual meet in St. Lucia.

Five men ? Geri Mewett (leader), Ricky Sousa Sr., Garth Thompson, Kent Richardson and Jamie Brown ? and two women ? Lynn Patchett and Deanna McMullen ? will represent the Island in the regional cycling showdown. Sousa and Richardson will compete in the men?s time trial while all five guys will participate in the road race with a view to giving Mewett a medal shot. Patchett and McMullen will compete in both the time trial and road race.

?In Ricky and Kent I think we have a good chance of securing at least one medal, if not two, in the time trial,? said manager for the men?s team Steve Millington.

?Kent has medalled at these championships before and Ricky has reaped success at time trials as well. It all bodes well in that respect.?

Given the riders? experience, he also expects a positive result in Sunday?s road race where Mewett should lead the Island?s medal assault in Hedges? absence. The latter ? who is the three-time defending Caribbean time trial champion and last year?s road-race runner-up ? was ruled out of the championships after breaking his collar bone late last month.

It was the second time in three months he suffered such an injury with the recurrence taking place when the the 24-year-old jumped into the ocean off Watford Bridge in Somerset at the end of the CD&P Bermuda Grand Prix.

?It is a big loss to the team because he was the team leader and because of that we?ve have to shift our focus. It?s difficult to find a replacement of Kris? calibre. That was a major blow to the team but it?s nothing we can?t overcome,? noted Millington, confident that Hedges? replacement, Kent Richardson, will do an admirable job.

?I?m sure Geri is up to the challenge of taking on the role of team leader in the road race. He will be the protected rider so everyone will be working towards giving him the best chance of securing a high position.?

Hedges, who rides professionally for VC Pontivy in France, will still accompany his compatriots to the Caribbean while Melanie Claude will manage the women?s team.

Sousa and Richardson are keen to show they are capable of filling the void created by Hedges and will be going all out to return victorious.

?I have been doing a lot of time-trial work. I have been to the World Duathlon Championships and I?ve broken some local time trial records in the Open and veteran divisions. I have really excelled in that this year,? declared Sousa who was also part of the Island?s team last year.

Despite his late substitution for Hedges, Richardson thinks his steady work throughout the season will prove beneficial.

?I have more experience this year so I am looking for a better performance.

?I was brought in late but I?ve been riding steadily since recovering from an accident in mid-season and I?ve been getting my strength back.

?I had some ripping rides in the Grand Prix and I?ve been working on time-trialling. I?ve had some good workouts and I think I?ll be fine.?

Focusing on tactics for the road race, the 45-year-old noted Bermuda would have to beware of the Jamaicans, Antiguans and Trinidadians.

?They are very explosive riders but I feel pretty good. My role is to look out for Geri ? me, Garth, Ricky and Jamie,? said the veteran.

?Most probably three of us will end up covering all the breaks and then somebody will stay with Geri late so that when it?s time to go he has got someone with him.

?I am excited and I hope that I will be able to ride for Geri the way he rode for Tyler in the Grand Prix. I did a pretty good job last year and I like being in that position where your job is to work hard and make sure we get somebody from Bermuda on the podium.?

Patchett, who has recovered from fracturing the pinky finger of her right hand in the Grand Prix, is looking forward to defending her time-trial crown. However, she anticipates tough competition from the Jamaican and Puerto Ricans who are elite riders.

She also ?feels good? about the 40km road race which she described as ?not particularly long?.

?I?m hoping we (she and McMullen) can work together and place in the top three for Bermuda,? said Patchett.

Millington concurred, also tipping the Island?s female pair to excel in their events once there are no unforeseen incidents.