Cycling: Plenty of competition for Guyton in Southland

12.00pm

With four former winners and 31 international riders on the entry list, the Tour of Southland cycling race beginning on Monday is tipped to be hotly contested.

Team Southland Times, boasting defending champion Scott Guyton of Rotorua, and former winners American John Lieswyn and Hamilton's Glen Mitchell, start as outright favourites to retain their teams title.

Dunedin's Greg Henderson and Te Awamutu's Tim Gudsell make up the rest of the Southland Times team.

Guyton, who also won the tour in 1998, made up 50 seconds on leader Jeremy Yates in the penultimate stage to grab his 2003 win.

Te Awamutu's Karl Moore, riding for Rabobank, is another former champion hoping to upset the powerful Southland Times line up.

Zookeepers Cafe -- containing Hayden Roulston, of Ashburton, Heath Blackgrove, of Waimate, Marc Ryan, of Timaru, Craig Thomson, of Dunedin, and Gordon McCaulay, of Wellington -- look capable of posing a strong challenge to Southland Times as do Team Ultimo, an all-international team of Germans Fabian Mathes, Hans Fischer and Christian Brockhoff, Australian Josh Akarsu and France's Olivier Fesque.

The three Germans are elite members of the Marin team from Herpersdorf while Fesquet was last year's Aude region champion and is a notable road sprinter.

Tour organiser Bruce Ross told NZPA this year's line up was probably the strongest field assembled in 48 years the tour has been contested.

With 31 international riders, including a strong contingent of 15 Americans, there were several exciting combinations this year and many possibles among the 95-strong field to take the individual title.

One foreign rider to watch is Swiss cyclist Pascal Hugerbuhler, who will be riding as part of the Meadow Fresh team.

Hugerbuhler competed strongly during the 2004 European season, winning two races in Austria and recording several other impressive performances.

Ross said American Colby Pearce, riding for the SIT Zero Fees team, was another who could trouble Guyton.

"Pearce has won seven United States national track titles and took part in the Athens Olympics.

"He is using the Southland tour as part of his build up to next year's world track championship."

In the under-23 classification, Ross said Invercargill rider Matt King, riding in the Winton's Middle Pub team, could be one to feature.

This year's tour of 10 stages, including a team time trial and an individual time trial, covers 645km and takes in some of the deep south's best scenic areas.

It begins with the team time trial around Invercargill's Queens Park on Monday.

Stage details:-

Monday: Stage 1 - teams time trial, Queens Park, Invercargill 8.3km. Stage 2 - Invercargill-Bluff Hill, 79km.

Tuesday: Stage 3 - Invercargill-Tuatapere 112km. Stage 4 - Tuatapere to Winton , 86.3km.

Wednesday: Stage 5 - Lumsden-Crown Range 130.8km.

Thursday: Stage 6 - Individual Time Trial 15km. Stage 7 - Riversdale to Invercargill via Gore, 129.4km.

Friday: Stage 8 - Winton-Te Anau 163km.

Saturday: Stage 9 Te Anau-Lumsden 79km. Stage 10 - Winton-Invercargill 64.4km.

- NZPA