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