The Island's best cyclists face their sternest test of 1995 in the Bermuda Grand Prix, a three-day competition beginning on Front Street on Friday night.

Several overseas competitors are pencilled in for the four races, most of them top amateur Category II cyclists.

They are, according to Jeff Payne, the event's co-director and current president of the Bermuda Bicycle Association, "the hungry guys... the guys who are climbing and climbing fast. It's about as high an amateur standard as we can get without subjecting our guys to professionals.

"We really wanted to get good quality racing to test our guys and see where they sit relative to other countries.'' Included among the "hungry guys'' will be a woman -- Dierdre Murphy of the United States -- who has been given permission to compete in the Open category with the men.

The Grand Prix begins with a one hour and two lap criterium for 40 of the best Open racers along Front Street (from the Birdcage to Court Street) on Friday night starting at 7.15 p.m.

All the other categories get their first taste of action beginning at 8.30 on Saturday morning at the USNAS in St. David's with a five-mile prologue time trial followed by a 30-mile short circuit road race.

The event concludes on Sunday with a 75-mile road race, also at the Base and beginning at 8.30.

Besides the Open division, there will be categories for women, novices, juniors, veterans and also for category III racers.

Local competitors will include sprint champion Sinclair Packwood, Clark Tear, Greg Hopkins, Whayman Butterfield, Neil de ste Croix, Stephane Carpentier, Tim Palmer, Mike Lee and Damian Wilson.

Organisers were hoping to lure McInnis Looby, currently training in California since January.

"We're hoping he'll be back, in fact we've insisted he come back,'' said Payne. "We'd like him here because it gives us a chance to assess him and see how he's progressing.'' If he does show up he'll be able to test his mettle against top international amateurs like Tony D'Angelo, Pablo Castro, Bob Schuller, Art Garcia, Steve Lehmann, Lincoln Charles and Aaron Mengel.

"Locally we've had quite a few events this season, but this is our first major event,'' said Hopkins yesterday. "It's certainly the only one that will include international competitors.

"They bring for us as riders the unknown factor,'' he added. "To me, one of the downsides of competing in Bermuda is how everybody knows everybody else, who's on form and who's not.'' During the last two months Hopkins has been training hard, doing at least 2,500 miles of road work.

"So I'm prepared,'' he said.

Payne, who is unable to compete because of an injury, is being helped by former bicycle association president John Mills.

"We have about 10 or 12 real good riders in Bermuda, but we don't know how good they are because we are a tight-knit cycling community. We're always competing against each other. To assess how good we are, my thought was to bring some good American riders in.'' While it won't make motorists happy, the Front Street criterium is bound to be a hit with fans. Traffic will be prevented on the street beginning at 7 p.m.

"Cycling isn't a great spectator sport generally, particularly when you get to the 75 mile road race, but on Friday night it's a very short loop course so you can practically see it all and it's going to be very fast.'' Warned Payne: "You can't blow it out totally on the Friday night because you're going to finish about half past eight and then eight o'clock the next morning you've got to be on the line for a time trial.

"And then there's the 75 mile race on Sunday.'' SINCLAIR PACKWOOD -- chance to compete against some of America's top amateurs.

JEFF PAYNE -- Grand Prix offers Bermuda's cyclists an opportunity "to assess how good we are.''