this week begin preparations for their second.

This time, they're expecting better results.

A day after the senior team were overwhelmed by a legion of world-class cyclists in the Bermuda Grand Prix, national coach Greg Hopkins yesterday said he and his riders remained optimistic heading to Cuba for the World Mini-Nations Championships.

The three riders who competed in the elite category on the weekend -- Steve Sterritt, Mike Lee and Kevin Topple -- will form the nucleus of the team going to Cuba in three weeks. And they'll be joined by Jeff Payne, MacInnis Looby and Jason Krupp in an event Bermuda performed well at a year ago.

Since then, Bermuda have formed a national programme, designed to bring top riders together in an intense training atmosphere. Their debut was in the Grand Prix, which was a little like a national basketball team opening against the Chicago Bulls.

"It's pretty clear that when you get a field of this level, it's a lot to expect of our local riders,'' said Hopkins.

Saying he was "very impressed'' with the way the Bermuda cyclists rode, Hopkins insisted comparisons with the likes of overall Grand Prix winner Mike McCarthy and his Saturn team-mates were unfair. It was a message he spent much of yesterday conveying to his squad.

"These guys compete two or three times a week in big races, week in and week out,'' he said. "Here, you can train as hard as you like and you can have as much ability as you like, but unless you're exposed to that kind of competition on a continual basis, it's very difficult to up your game.'' Asked if Sterritt, Lee and Topple risked disillusionment in butting heads with full-time pros, Hopkins said the three sat down with him before the event and openly discussed the race. The choice was theirs and in the end the opportunity to race against the Tour de France veteran George Hincapie et al won out. "They went into it with totally open eyes,'' he said.

Sterritt, coming off a gruelling series of races in Ireland last month, led the Bermuda riders, recovering from a shaky time trial on Friday for an impressive 75-mile road race on Saturday.

Topple finished last among the 47 elite riders but Hopkins said he was "riding as well as anybody (in Bermuda) this season.'' The final results will show Sterritt actually finished ahead of Saturn's Frank McCormack overall, although that is misleading. McCormack, second to Elliot Hubbard in Thursday night's criterium and second in the time trial, purposely tanked it in the road race in order to preserve his team-mates' lead and conserve energy for Sunday's critical criterium -- which he won.

Sterritt, Topple and Lee will be joined by Krupp and Looby for the road race in Cuba. Payne will specialise in the time trial while Looby, a Category II cyclist who opted to ride in the secondary races, will take part in the track event.

Despite a strong showing on the weekend, youngsters Nuri Latham and Tyler Butterfield were not considered. Hopkins said gear limitations on their bikes -- imposed on juniors by the Bermuda Bicycle Association for health and safety reasons -- would make it especially difficult for them.

NICK OF TIME -- Cyclist Nick Taylor receives congratulations from his mother Erna on Sunday after he won the overall Junior 13-14-year-old division at the Bermuda Grand Prix.