announced his retirement after a career which put the Island on the cycling map.

The 27-year-old, who rode last season for the New Jersey-based Navigators team, said in a press conference at the Hamilton offices of Conyers, Dill and Pearman that he was quitting cycling's paid ranks to pursue further education.

"The time has come in my life to change my direction of focus,'' said Hubbard. "I will not be racing on the professional circuit next year.

`Looking back over my cycling career, the years have been very fulfilling to me. I'd like to thank the Bermuda public in general for their support.'' Hubbard said he had been privileged to represent his country in a succession of major Games and that winning the CD&P Grand Prix in front of a home crowd four years ago had been a real high point, as well as carrying his country's flag at the Pan-Am Games and participating in the Olympics.

He plans to keep cycling, though "just for fun'', and may be available for the national team. That was good news to national cycling coach Greg Hopkins, a close companion of Hubbard throughout his career, who said he would like to see the star rider continue to wear the Island's colours -- but the coach will put no pressure on him.

Hopkins said Hubbard's retirement would leave a "massive void'' in Bermuda cycling and added that the rider had made himself a "local hero''.

Hopkins appeared at yesterday's press conference, along with John Buckley of CD&P, a company credited by Hubbard with furthering his career and cycling in Bermuda.

Hubbard will forever be remembered for world-class performances at the Pan-Am Games of 1995 and 1999, as well as the Commonwealth Games of 1994 and 1998, each time riding solo, without the considerable benefits that team-mates bring.

Hubbard's one appearance at the Olympic Games, in Atlanta in 1996, ended in despair, when he was caught from behind by a rival and crashed on just the fifth lap of the road race.

His raw talent was turned into success by his dedication to training and the courage to venture into the tough world of European cycling while still in his teens. Hubbard learnt the art of high-class cycling as a youngster in France, where he learned to speak the language and earned respect as a talented rider on the semi-pro circuit of arguably the world's most cycling-crazy country.

Among the teams he rode for were Association Cycliste de Mandelieu and Union Cycliste de Monaco.

As a 20-year-old, he produced a stunning performance at the Commonwealth Games in Victoria, Canada, to finish 24th out of a road race field of 85 top riders.

A 15th place finish in a 165-kilometre road race the following year in the Pan-Am Games in Argentina was further proof that Hubbard had arrived as a top cyclist.

The year 1996 was a dramatic one for Hubbard. In May, racing with the Baltimore-based One Plus team, he won the Front Street Classic Criterium, sparking emotional scenes among a delighted home crowd. A third place in the road race at St. David's was enough for him to clinch the overall CD&P Grand Prix title.

Hubbard calls it quits From Page 33 "Racing in Bermuda in the Grand Prix has always been high on my list,'' said Hubbard yesterday. "Racing in front of a hometown crowd is always special but to win an international event was really special.'' After his Atlanta Olympic experience, 1996 ended with a full-time professional contract with Monaco-based Italian team AKI and a chance to race against the best in the world on the European circuit.

But by 1998, the team had folded, leaving Hubbard to go back to the US to continue his pro career with Navigators.

In the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur, Hubbard finished the road race just 30 seconds behind the medallists to earn 19th place.

And a year later at the Pan-Ams in Winnipeg, Canada, he came within a whisker of a medal in an unusually long road race of 203 kilometres, being credited with the same time as the silver and bronze medallists, and crossing the line 15th.

This year was frustrating for Hubbard. He missed out on the Sydney Olympics, partly because he was not allowed to compete in the World B Championships of 1999, where he could have qualified for Australia. The reason he could not compete for Bermuda in Uruguay was that as a pro, he was deemed "too good''.

A fall in training in August left him with a broken collarbone, and forced him to sit out the CD&P Grand Prix, which would have provided him with the perfect stage to bow out.

Hubbard added yesterday: "It's not to say I'll be hanging up my bike. My education will be my area of focus, but I will help out in any way I can with cycling in Bermuda.

"I may still race when I'm on the Island, but I haven't made up my mind.'' Hopkins said: "Elliot has taken cycling to levels Bermuda had never experienced. We hope he will be able to help with the national programme and bring other riders through.'' Hopkins added he would like Hubbard to be representing Bermuda at the 2002 Commonwealth Games, but that was entirely up to the rider, he added.

End of the road: Bermuda's only professional cyclist Elliot Hubbard has decided to retire in order to concentrate on furthering his education.