Cycling: Friends will become foes for Tour Doon Hame cycle race

THE international cycling quartet of James McCallum, Evan Oliphant, Ross Creber and David Lines, who were colleagues in the Scotland team at last year's Commonwealth Games, will become rivals this weekend when the Tour Doon Hame cycling race takes place in Dumfries & Galloway.

The three-day event, which was formerly the Girvan Three Day Race, has not been won by a Scot since 1987. Oliphant was fourth overall last year, 20 seconds down on winner Chris Newton (Rapha Condor), and helped his Endura squad - with Kiwi Jack Bauer in second spot - to the team award. The Capital rider has had a measured build-up to the race, underlining his determination to perform well again this time.

McCallum, who features in a powerful Rapha Condor line-up, showed good form to win this month's Sup6r Six race and produced a steady performance in last weekend's CiCLE Classic.

He goes into the weekend under no illusions about the difficulty of the gruelling race which starts with a 92-mile stage finishing in Moffat tomorrow and continues on Sunday with an 81-mile haul around Dumfries, then concludes with a 92-mile stage from Dumfries to Castle Douglas on Monday. "To win this is going to take a strong man with a strong team and a team that works well together," said McCallum.

Creber, the 2009 Scottish road race champion, rides in the colours of CyclePremier.com, while Lines heads up the Endura/Pedal Power Development squad featuring several promising youngsters keen to make a mark on the 145-strong international field

Others capable of mounting a challenge include Midlothian rider Alex Coutts and Gary Hand, a team mate of Lines.