Fresh from victory in the Marathon Derby, Lynn Patchett has turned her sights to greater glory ? two golds at the Island Games.

This weekend she sets out on the path to not only defend her road-racing crown but also to wrest the time-trial title which she narrowly missed out on two years ago in Guernsey.

?I?d like to defend my title in the road race. In addition, I lost the time trial by one hundredth of a second last time so I?d like to try and do better than I did in 2003.

?We?ll have to see what the competition is like but ideally, yes, that is my main goal ? to go back there and do the best I can for Bermuda and better my performance from the last Island Games. I feel my cycling fitness has improved in the last two years and my experience will hopefully help me reach my goal,? declared the multi-talented athlete.

However, her immediate priority is the two-day Wachovia Liberty Classic in Philadelphia this weekend, a major link in the stepping stones to her Shetland Islands agenda.

?It?s the women?s US National Pro Championship but they also have some national, world and Olympic champions who will be participating. It?s probably the most prestigious women?s cycling race in North America,? explained Patchett, who savoured her second May 24 success last week Tuesday before shifting attention to her cycling programme.

?This is really the start of my preparation. I?ve done some base work and now it?s time to race and start working on tactics and doing more speed work. I?ve got the base and the fitness and it?s now a matter of fine-tuning for the Shetlands.?

The Bermudian will compete in a ten-mile time trial on Saturday before tackling a 57-mile road race the following day.

Patchett, who snagged an invitation to the elite meet via contacts made at last year?s CD&P Grand Prix here, will join Americans and one Argentinian in a seven-member team riding under the banner of Amoroso?s Bicycle Therapy. The outfit includes well-known American cyclist Catherine Powers who participated in last year?s CD&P series.

It will be the biggest undertaking of Patchett?s cycling career and the veteran is eagerly looking forward to it.

?I?m perhaps more nervous about this than I was about May 24. I?m overwhelmed by the standard of riders who are in the race and the number of entries but I?m pretty excited about being able to compete with them.

?My goal in the road race is to ride with a big group and to try to stay as close to the leaders as possible. I?ll be there to get the experience of riding in a pack with very elite riders and just trying to hang in with them and see where I stand ? just to get a feel for my fitness leading up to the Shetland Games.

?I?ll be completely out of my league so for me to stay with the lead group of 30 or 40 riders would be excellent,? she noted, disclosing that more than 180 cyclists will be in the road race.

?It?s the largest field that women would come across cycling in most places.?

The 38-year-old, who finished with the top men in last Sunday?s 65-mile road race at Southside, would ?certainly be happy coming in the top 40 riders in the road race?.

As for the time trial ? one of her better disciplines ? she would be ?ecstatic? to be among the top 25.

However, when she meets her team-mates later this week, she will be apprised of her unit?s race plans.

?You need to be with a team to have tactics and help each other along. They might have a girl ? it could be Catherine ? who is a strong rider that we help along and do blocking (for) and all the things that go on in bike racing.

?So I could be in line to do some work for her, climbing the hills and giving assistance,? said the local competitor who has received lots of information on the event from cycling colleagues like Kris Hedges and Peter Dunne.

The Island will also have a rising star testing his mettle in Philadephia as Ricky Sousa jr ? who was third in the recent Sinclair Packwood Memorial Race ? competes in Saturday?s junior time trial.