cycling season.

And a desire to qualify for the World Time Trial Championships in San Sebastian, Spain, means he will not be returning for the Bermuda Grand Prix in May, the California-based rider said yesterday.

"Right now my whole season is geared towards qualifying for the World Time Trials. The month of May is four weeks of time trials and I'm trying to give myself more than ample opportunities trying to reach the qualifying standard,'' he said.

Looby, the number one rider on the Team Extreme club, blamed the harshness of the course for the flat tyres that forced his withdrawal in each of his first two outings.

Looby said this was a common malady, as several competitors were unable to complete the races.

"It was on a real rough course and a lot of guys were getting flats and my repair vehicle was back working on someone else, so it took them two or three minutes to get to me,'' said Looby. "Two or three minutes on a pro one/two field by yourself is a lot to make up.'' Looby was situated at the back of the lead pack at the time of his first misfortune and by the time he received help there was no hope of reeling in the lead group, he said.

A similar scenario unfurled this past weekend during the MacLane Fitness Race, run along the same course and covering some 140 miles. Three laps into the five-lap course Looby incurred yet another puncture.

But Looby wasn't dismayed by the unlucky start to his season.

"I'm confident in what I'm doing,'' he said. "We have team group riding where we ride with other teams and I'm letting everybody know that I'm there to take care of business.

"I'm strong enough to respond to whatever, whether it's climbing or flat or speed. The only thing I don't have is the sprint; the hills out here kind of take that away from you.'' Looby was also confident of his ability to reach the qualifying standard for the World Time Trial Championships of around 59 minutes for a 25-mile distance.

"It's definitely a gettable time for me. Our national championships were 27 miles and I did 1:05, I think,'' said Looby, currently a Category Two rider, but hopeful of earning Category One license by the end of the season.

"It's a lot different than last season. When I came out here this time I had done a lot more riding, when the season started I had 5,000 miles of base mileage and I just needed to get race fit, which I'm just getting now.

"I can pretty much stay with anybody; it's just a matter of now building that confidence mentally and taking that next step.