The owner of Tyler Butterfield?s new pro team believes Bermuda?s top cyclist will be peaking just as his team enter the Tour de France.

After completing a two-year apprenticeship with French amateur team Vendee U, Butterfield was signed last week by SlipStream Sports, owned by Jonathan Vaughters, a former team-mate of cycling legend Lance Armstrong.

The developmental team ? who are racing here next week without Butterfield ? are hoping to be ready to enter the cycling world?s premier event in 2009 or 2010, by which time the Bermudian is expected to be among the team?s elite.

Vaughters was invited as a guest speaker by the Bermuda Bicycling Association at the end of last year and it was then that he first heard the name Tyler raised.

?I must admit I hadn?t heard of him before but his name just stuck,? said Vaughters, a keen fisherman who has since returned to Bermuda three times in search of tuna, wahoo and marlin.

?One of my jobs is to go through the amateur results in Europe and I saw the name. I looked into it a bit more and decided that he could really benefit from joining our group.

?He might not have been winning races, but for a Bermudian or an American to survive in the tough world of European racing in that foreign environment it shows he has the right sort of stuff to make it.

?When I was about his age I went over to Spain and got my a*** kicked all over the place but it toughed me up and made me the rider I was when I came back to America.

?Tyler is at just the right age and because he has come into the world of specialist cycling quite late, I feel he still has room for improvement.?

Vaughters is impressed with former Olympic triathlon Butterfield?s background ? ?Lance Armstrong started in triathlon too? ? and feels that the youngster should progress well through his team?s ranks.

?By surviving as he has in Europe, he shows he has the right mental attitude and the ability to cope that you need,? Vaughters continued.

?The triathlon background shows he is prepared to work hard and is able to cope with the rigours of competition. Although physically there are going to be no problems, my only concern might be the tactical side of things ? and that?s something that comes with experience.

?It?s probably going to be a good three years or so before he really peaks, and that could work out perfect timing-wise for him is that is when our team should be ready for the big tours like the Tour de France.

?Although we have some very good elite riders, Tyler isn?t just going to be with us to grind it out for them ? I can assure you of that.?

Once next week?s Grand Prix is over, Vaughters and the US and European management teams are going to spend the next five days here, hammering out the year?s schedule.

This will also give Vaughters a chance to continue fishing, hoping to improve on a 50lb wahoo and a 60lb tuna.

?As soon as I came to Bermuda I was bowled over by the people,? he added.

?I made some good friends straightaway and have really enjoyed coming back. The fishing is fantastic, although I haven?t got anything big yet.?