at the seventh of 15 stages on the weekend.

But the good news is that Bermuda's top cyclist is back in good health after a recent bout of measles which put him in hospital for three days.

"Coming back from the measles I wasn't firing on full power,'' said Hubbard yesterday from his base in Treviso in Northern Italy, near Venice.

"I was off the bike for two weeks and spent three days in hospital with a serious fever. That obviously took a lot out of me and I'm still not 100 per cent and it's going to take me another couple of weeks of solid training.'' Hubbard and his Aki Safi team-mates had a tough time of it in the Tour of Portugal. "We had some pretty bad roads and had some flat tyres and broken wheels,'' explained the 23-year-old.

"In the seventh stage I spent quite a bit of time pacing my team-mates back to the pack after some flat tyres so already I was doing a lot of work. As soon as I got back in I broke a wheel and then had a fairly complicated wheel change in which I lost quite a bit of time getting myself back on the road.

"I chased the pack for about 30 kilometres on my own into a headwind and at that point the race was in full swing, moving on at about 60 kph, and there was no way by myself that I could catch back on.'' Hubbard was part of an eight-man team and on that seventh stage he paced back two riders after flat tyres. "We were already doing a lot of work and when I got my flat tyre it was the last straw.

"We finished second in the last stage, the sprint, and had a rider who finished sixth in one of the time trials. In the general classication we had a rider who placed 18th overall. My personal position wasn't of any significance, I was definitely in the bottom half in the GC.'' The event was Hubbard's first since the measles which hit him two weeks before the start of the Tour. Now he is looking forward to his next outing on August 20-22 in the Lombardia Region when his team will be involved in three different races, the Agostini, bernocchi and Tre Valli events is as many days.

"I'm feeling stronger and stronger every day and so I'm feeling more positive about my upcoming races and my preparation for the World Championships (October 8-12 in San Sebastian, Spain),'' said Hubbard, who is fast becoming fluent in Italian, his third language behind French.

"I think all in all I'm definitely on target as far as reaching my goals for this season,'' said Hubbard of his first season as a professional with the Italian club.

"I'm still got things to learn but I feel more confident about my ability as a professional. I have definitely learned a lot this season.'' Hubbard is also axious for a break back home after the World Championships.

"I'll be looking forward to some time to unwind,'' he admits.