Kris Hedges is looking to take his cycling "to the next level" after sealing a deal with a top amateur team in France.

Bermuda's number one rider revealed yesterday that he was leaving US team, Snow Valley, to head to Europe where he will link up with VC Pontivy, an Elite One outfit based in Brittany in the west of the country.

The move has come about thanks, in the main, to former national coach Phillipe Mauduit.

Frenchman Mauduit, who has just concluded several months at the helm of Bermuda's national squad, has used his contacts in his native country to engineer the switch.

In some ways it is a bittersweet move for Hedges who had improved considerably as a rider since joining Snow Valley.

But plans by team chiefs to step it up a gear did not come to fruition despite a very successful season and so Hedges decided the time was right to sever his involvement.

"They were trying to find a major sponsor to take it to the next level," he said yesterday. "That really just didn't come about and with my graduation from Johns Hopkins I wanted to do a little more with my cycling.

"Snow Valley was the perfect match while I was at school because they were based nearby. This would have been my fourth season with Snow Valley and I just felt as a team we couldn't do any better than we had this year when we had an amazing season throughout.

"A couple of the riders were looking to move and if you don't look, you don't know. I just wanted to try something new and see if I could take it to the next level."

Hedges has been told to be in France by January 25 in readiness for the start of the season the following month.

"I haven't been in direct communication with the directors or the coaches there, it's all been through Phillipe. They have just told me I need to be there on January 25 for training camp," he said. "We actually start racing in the first week of February, which is extremely early for me. I haven't raced in February for the last couple of years."

Racing in Europe is different to that in the US but it should not prove a hindrance.

"I think there will be a lot less criterium-style racing. In the US the core of the racing is criterium whereas in Europe I expect to be doing a lot more single day races, stage races, stuff of that nature," Hedges said. "But as of right now I really don't know the full programme. We are still just ironing out details. But basically all the elites do a similar programme no matter where you are."

The rider said he was excited about the new challenge.

"Hopefully, things fall into place real quick and the team moulds well and I can get some key results early on and get the confidence going," he said. "I have known other riders go to Europe and do well and I hope to be competitive and we will see what happens."

Despite the success he has already achieved Hedges believes his best years are still ahead of him.

"I think every year I have improved," he said. "Each year I step it up a notch and I think there is still a lot more to come from me.

"This will be the first year without any academic commitments and I am hoping that plays a big role. I have definitely not tied myself down with anything. I am going to Australia to train throughout the winter and hope to get in the swing of things."

Meanwhile. Hedges said there was still a glimmer of hope that Bermuda might be represented at next year's Olympics.

Admitting it was slim, he said the Bermuda Olympic Association was still awaiting the outcome of their submission for a wildcard entry.

"There's a very minor chance," he said. "It has been submitted through the BOA and I think in April they announce what teams and what riders and what athletes generally get the wildcards.

"It's a very complex thing really, it all depends on the size of the team and the contingent that's going from the country as to whether they are eligible for a wildcard. Some sports are a lot more liberal when it comes to wildcards than others."