first major race in Italy, Elliott Hubbard returned home to Bermuda this week hoping to invigorate himself with a few months of rest and relaxation.

After standing up to the heavy pounding of first category cycling in Europe, Hubbard will also be digesting the intricate system of the new team he signed with a few weeks ago.

Armed with several offers after a season that was not without its difficult moments, Hubbard finally made the choice to make new tracks and bolt his team -- the Union Cycliste de Monaco -- to sign with the Association Cycliste de Mandelieu in nearby Cannes.

What attracted the Bermudian most of all to Mandelieu was the successful record it has in turning amateur cyclists into professional ones, something Hubbard hopes to accomplish within the next two years.

"People always need a change of atmosphere,'' said Hubbard yesterday. "To thrive you really need to make changes.'' Among the biggest changes he will make will be the amount of races he competes in during the season. Last year he participated in roughly 34 races, including the apex of his season -- the first-place finish at the Ospedetali Criterium in Bordigeira, Italy. He hopes to race in at least 50 of the 70 events Mandelieu compete in yearly.

Hubbard will be one of 15 first category riders on the squad and will spend the next few months doing weight training with well-known Bermuda triathlete Greg Hopkins and will also do some running at Horseshoe Bay Beach, close to his parents home in Southampton where he is currently staying.

Living with his parents has its perks -- they have installed a private telephone in his room -- but perhaps not as many as the ones he hopes to accumulate while racing with a team which once boasted the likes of Richard Virenque. Virenque is a one-time polka dot jersey wearer in the Tour de France and now a member of the Festina team in Spain.

Most of all Hubbard will have to resist the temptation of competing in any races here, and reluctantly turned down an offer to represent Bermuda in the Central American and Caribbean Games in Puerto Rico next month.

"My coach thought that it would be too much for me,'' said Hubbard. "He warned me that it would mean that I'd be too tired by the end of the season.

Last year our team had a couple of riders from Poland who raced really hard when they went home after the season and burned themselves out.'' The only thing burning inside Hubbard last year was the way the Grand Prix de Monaco was mysteriously called off in September, a race he had been aiming for all year.

`Poof' went all the promise of an otherwise upbeat season and when he could not get sufficient answers and only a labyrinth of excuses from team officials, he made the decision to quit Monaco.

He said that he has fully recovered from the most crushing blow of his campaign.

"The next couple of years I'll have to ride really well,'' he said. "A lot of my Monaco teammates were obviously disappointed I was leaving, and I'll miss them too, but they realised I couldn't turn down an opportunity like this.'' ELLIOTT HUBBARD -- Bermuda cyclist expects the change of scenery will keep him on the fast track to a professional career.