Once heard, his name is difficult to forget and Jean-Nicolas Bertrand hopes to keep it that way when it comes to cycling.

The 17-year-old is tipped as one of the Island's up and coming riders by none other than national coach Greg Hopkins. And after taking the Most Improved Rider trophy at this year's Bermuda Bicycle Association Awards evening, few would disagree.

Bertrand is one of those quiet and unassuming types who has had to work hard to hone his natural ability.

But after three years on the bike things are starting to come together.

"My friends were all competitive triathletes, and naturally, that is where I began," he said from College Bois-de-Boulogne in Montreal where he is preparing to attend university. "I wasn't much of a swimmer and my ride was by far my strongest discipline."

Bertrand said it was just a social interest back in those days.

"My first season wasn't taken too seriously," he said. "I rarely trained and a ski accident made the training I did do quite difficult.

"I was slow and it wasn't until later on in the season that I really began to understand the advantages of drafting."

Bertrand realised he would need to get some expert help if he was to make further inroads into the sport.

"After my first season I realised there were some aspects of my training that needed changing. I knew that I would need to train properly to compete with the rest of my category," he said. "I started looking for a coach and I found a family friend who was willing to help me out.

"She taught me the basics, how to train safely with weights and set up my training schedule for the last two seasons.

"I also began to train with Greg (Hopkins) and a few other adult riders on Tuesday mornings with other juniors."

But Bertrand admitted the regime was not easy.

"This part of my training was physically demanding, however, more importantly, Greg also taught us how to really ride a bike," he said. "He taught us how to think in a race, how to utilise our strengths and conceal our weaknesses, and how to read a race.

"Whayman Butterfield also helped out a lot on both aspects of my cycling this year and with the help that I have received I began to develop my ride physically and mentally.

"When I look back on how I rode before, my improvement has been significant."

Hopkins told BBA members that no-one this season really wanted to be approaching the finish line with Bertrand on their tail and the rider acknowledged that his speed was his best asset.

"My biggest strength is my powerful sprint as Greg mentioned," he said. "I can usually finish quite strong. Over the past few years I have learnt to optimise my finish as it is one of the strongest parts of my ride."

He admitted he still had a lot to learn, but Bertrand said he was keen to see it through.

"The biggest thing I need to work on is being able to be part of a breakaway for the next season," he said. "Unfortunately, I am currently limited to staying in the pack as I don't have the endurance to break away with only a few riders and pull away from the bigger group.

"Physical endurance and strength is something that I am aiming to focus on developing for the upcoming season."

Conscious of his need to study, Bertrand is not setting himself any lofty ambitions in the sphere of cycling - not just yet anyway.

"At the moment I am not sure as to how far I am going to take the sport," he said. "I hope that by working even harder this year I can be more competitive at the Canadian Junior Nationals.

"I think that if I train properly I can put up a better fight than last year, and who knows, maybe even make the Canadian Junior National team cut.

"After the junior category I will have to make up my mind but I definitely plan to continue to ride my bike at college."

The teenager says he does not know if he can emulate Bermuda's number one cyclist, Kris Hedges, but he looks up to him as a role model.

"Riding helps me clear my mind of the school stresses but I am not sure whether or not I am going to take a step higher and attempt to compete at a level near Hedges," he said.

"I really admire what Kris has accomplished over the past few years. I also have to say I look up to Greg and Whayman because they have taught me pretty much everything I know about the sport and have taught me to really enjoy and love it."