A disconsolate Elliot Hubbard has vowed to pursue his Olympic dream for another four years after his Atlanta hopes were shattered amid a pile of broken bikes and bodies.

The heart-breaking crash occurred less than a third of the way into Wednesday's 137-mile road race, on the fifth of 17 laps.

And while the 22-year-old Bermudian escaped physically unharmed, the emotional wounds may take some time to heal.

"It's a shame to come this far and work this hard and then go out on a crash,'' said Hubbard. "But I've promised myself I'll come back one day and finish the Olympics on a higher note.'' In a daunting field of 197 riders from 57 countries -- many of them professionals -- Hubbard had settled into mid-pack position and appeared comfortable when the pile-up, which was captured on film relayed to a large screen in the start/finish area, occurred.

"I guess I was in the wrong place at the wrong time,'' he reflected. "I heard the crash behind me and I thought I was getting free, but somebody caught me from behind and I went down. I didn't go down too hard but the bike took the brunt of the damage.'' Hubbard's back wheel spokes were smashed and amid the confusion it was more than a minute and a half before support vehicles following the pack were able to replace his wheel, by which time the peloton had disappeared out of sight.

"It seemed like an eternity to get the wheel back on. It was in pretty bad shape, we had trouble getting it out and getting the new wheel on.'' Hubbard and a New Zealand rider remounted in an attempt to give chase but the gap was too wide.

"We chased for a good half lap after that, but we'd lost too much time and we just weren't making up any ground,'' continued Hubbard.

"When the crash happened we were going along at 55 to 60 kilometres and hour.

If you wait a minute for a wheel change you have to chase at least at 65 kph to catch back on which is virtually impossible. We realised we were fighting a losing battle. So we finished the lap and decided to call it a day.'' However, even at that early stage in the race, the torrid pace was taking its toll on many of the lesser experienced competitors.

Thirteen dropped out on the very first lap -- a loop of 8.1 miles -- and another five fell by the wayside on the next. By the fifth lap the field of 193 had already been whittled down to 169.

But Hubbard, well placed to counter any attack from the front, had settled into a good rhythm and was keeping company with many of the race favourites.

To his left was five-time Tour de France winner Miguel Indurain and to his right top French rider Laurent Jalabert. American Lance Armstrong was also riding nearby, but amazingly all three pros avoided the crash.

"We were all close to each other, and I was thinking to myself `this is the place to be', but obviously it wasn't,'' added Hubbard.

Earlier, on the first lap, reigning Tour de France champion Bjarne Riis had suffered a puncture and was later to get another flat. And on both occasions his Danish team-mates helped haul him back.

But Hubbard didn't believe his lack of team support had any bearing on the outcome. "In this particular instance, I don't think team-mates could have helped. The speed we were riding when the crash happened was simply too fast to allow anybody to catch back on.'' Only 116 riders eventually finished the race with gold going to Switzerland's Pascal Richard, silver to Rolf Sorensen of Denmark.

Bermuda at the Olympics WEDNESDAY Athletics 200m heats, round one -- Troy Douglas, third, 20.41 (new national record); Round two, sixth, 20.63 (eliminated).

Cycling Road race (137 miles) -- Elliot Hubbard, retired sixth of 17 laps.

Sailing Laser Class -- Malcolm Smith, race 11 (final race), 35th; overall 42nd.

Europe Dinghy -- Paula Lewin, race 11 (final race), 8th; overall 14th.

TODAY/TOMORROW No more events for Bermuda athletes