ERROR RG P13 25.2.1998 CORRECTION The name of Elliot Hubbard's co-sponsors were misidentified in a report on the cyclist yesterday. Somerset Insurance Ltd., not Somers Isles, are reinsurance affiliates of main sponsors, Navigators Insurance Group.

Hackettstown, New Jersey, is more than just the home of M&Ms chocolate candy.

As of last week, it's the residence of Elliot Hubbard.

And to hear the Hackettstown-based Navigators tell it, it's an ideal marriage for both parties -- Hubbard, that is, not the M&Ms.

"We're excited to have Elliot in our organisation,'' Ed Beamon, the team's Directeur Sportif, said in a statement.

"We're real glad to have him,'' added the team's general manager, Ray Cipollini in a recent telephone interview.

For Hubbard, it's the chance to show his skills as a top rider on a top US team which has designs on competing full-time on the tough European tour. At the very least, it should help him forget a disastrous start to 1998, which has seen him lose his spot on the his Italian team and then walk away from a contract in Belgium.

Added Cipollini: "We're very concerned about the welfare of our riders.

That's one of the things that sets us apart.'' Hubbard, in the midst of early-season training in Arizona, could not be reached, but his coach and good friend Greg Hopkins calls the opportunity "a blessing in disguise.'' Navigators, now in their fifth year, finished 1997 as the number four-ranked team in the US and were 59th in the UCI world-wide points standings.

Cipollini treasures Hubbard's all-around ability and experience, calling him the team's "third batter'' behind veteran riders Michael Engleman and Scott Moninger, both among the best in the US.

But at 40, Engleman is entering his final year and the team envision Hubbard moving up into a leading role "very rapidly'' after a small period of adjustment, Cipollini said.

Navigators race virtually every weekend for eight straight months, including a trip to Europe in May.

Cipollini added that Hubbard would be taking part in most road races, some criteriums and virtually all stage races. Indeed, that versatility, combined with both potential and proven experience, made him a prize catch for the team.

"He fills a real need for us,'' said Cipollini.

Hubbard was in negotiations with Navigators last month, after he was bumped from AKI of Italy, and promised he would be in touch if things didn't work out in Belgium.

"Actually, we were interested in Elliot two years ago,'' said Cipollini. "We could see back then he had a lot of talent and we were a little disappointed that he went to Europe.'' Neither Hopkins nor the team would disclose terms of the contract except that it was a one-year deal.

Ironically, Hubbard isn't the only Bermuda connection with the 11-man team.

They are sponsored by the New York-based Navigators Insurance Group -- one of the world's leading marine insurers -- and co-sponsored by Somers Isles Insurance Ltd. of Bermuda, a reinsurance affiliate of Navigators. A Somers Isles spokesman yesterday would not comment on its relationship with the team.

Hubbard, 24, represented the Island in the 1991 and 1995 Pan-Am Games, the 1994 Commonwealth Games and 1996 Summer Olympics before enduring a difficult season last year in Italy.

ELLIOT HUBBARD -- move to US a "blessing in disguise.''