Bermudian Elliott Hubbard won the 130-kilometre Grand Prix de Dragingaun in spectacular fashion yesterday, his biggest cycling victory ever.

Hubbard clinched the race with an impressive sprint finish 20 yards from the line for his first major title.

The 20-year-old was coming off a second-place finish at the Grand Prix de Vedenne a week ago.

"I still can't believe it,'' Hubbard said last night from his home near Cannes. "I was in the right place at the right time. I had a good feel for the course and I felt confident.'' A good portion of the race, which took place on the outskirts of St. Tropez, was uphill and Hubbard took full advantage of his strength in that area to claim the bouquet of flowers, trophy and bottle of champagne for winning the race.

His victory was all the more remarkable since he had pulled out of the Grand Prix de Vence on Saturday mostly because of a poor start but also to "save my strength for Sunday.'' Hubbard, a member of the Mandelieu squad, is quickly gaining notoriety for his solid performances this season.

"My team-mates were surprised,'' said Hubbard. "The racer in front of me was a well-known sprinter, so everyone really expected him to win.'' Hubbard was the only member of the Mandolociens to crack the top three in the race.

He will now participate in a pair of events next weekend.

"It's a long season,'' he said. "I can't ride at 100 percent all the time, but to already have a victory is quite comforting.'' British road cycling champion Malcolm Elliott won his second consecutive First Union Grand Prix yesterday, edging Steve Bauer by a half-length after 119.6 miles through the Atlanta's residential north side.

Elliott, who won $15,000, finished the 13 laps around the 9.2-mile circuit in three hours, 56 minutes, one second. Bauer was timed in 3:56:02.

The Englishman, who has won 13 races this year, was part of a five-man break midway through the race, but with 27 miles to go he bolted ahead of the pack.

He was alone until Bauer caught up to him with three miles remaining.

"I was concerned when Bauer caught me,'' Elliott said. "Fortunately for me, he didn't catch me until the top of the hill. If he'd caught me any sooner, I think he'd of had the gap to win.'' Chris Huber was third and Bart Bowen fourth, both timed at 3:56:33.

The next six finishers, all given the time of 3:57:16, were, in order: Kaspars Ozers, Roberto Gaggioli, Radisa Cubric, Greg LeMond, Graeme Miller and Scott McKinley.