WHAT have Southampton born Glenn Longland (Antelope RS Holdings RT) and the Texan ranger, Lance Armstrong (US Postal) got in common?

Both cyclists compete in races this weekend; they have won several times before and they will share the same mental pressures which affect all former winners who return to the scenes of past triumphs.

But while Longland won't start the Bournemouth Jubilee Wheelers 100 with the same financial incentive as Armstrong to win again he does have a better record than the American in their respective races.

The veteran Longland has won the Dorset time trial six times in the past whereas the 31 year-old Armstrong has only four Tour de France wins to his name, but in lining up beneath the Eiffel

Tower in Paris for the start of the 6.5 kilometre prologue time trial tomorrow (Saturday) afternoon the eyes of the sporting world will be looking to see if the latter will be setting out on a record equalling fifth back to back win.

Three weeks will pass before that question is answered, but what is known already is that the start of this year's centenary Tour will be watched worldwide by millions on television, whereas Longland and the other 27 entrants will almost certainly outnumber spectators drawn to the starting line of the 100 mile time trial at Sturminster Marshall on Sunday morning.

Unlike Armstrong, Longland will find himself racing against two other former winners of his race. They are fellow veteran, Terry Icke (Poole Wheelers) and the CTT South District champion, Malcolm Cox (VC St Raphael Waite Contracts). He made his intentions clear of repeating last year's victory by going over a minute faster on his way to victory with a time of 3h.58m.7s in the Mid-Devon CC 100 last Sunday.

Cox's club breaks new ground tomorrow when it organises its first open time trial, over a 10 mile course near Liss which looks

tailor-made for its own members.

Steve Walkling and Aran Stanton have been almost taking turns to finish in the top two places in time trials over this distance several times this season, though both have been beaten by club-mate, Rowan Horner, whose presence among the 76 entrants makes a clean sweep on the podium a strong possibility.

The annual Tour of Cranborne Chase is less easy to predict. Justin Hoy (Evans Cycles RT) and Gary Dodd (Sigma Sport RT) first and second in the Guildford Town Centre race on Wednesday night, take on ten other elite category riders who include Winchester's Danny Axford (Parrot Print Stilton RT) anxious to make amends after being pulled out, along with over a score of other riders, when they dropped over ten minutes behind the leaders in the British Road Championship near Newport last Sunday.

The presence of several Continental based full-time professionals led by the new champion, Roger Hammond (Collstrop Palmans), who added the road title to his cycle-cross crown, and a very demanding course contributed to that result, and recalled a comment made by Henri Desgrange, the organiser of the first Tour de France in 1903 who believed a really great winner of a cycle race is the only one who finishes!

FIXTURES:

Saturday - VC St Raphael Waite Contracts 10, Ham Barn roundabout, Liss, 4pm.

Sunday - Bournemouth Jubilee Wheelers 100, Sturminster Marshall, 6am;

Tour of Cranborne Chase, Sixpenny Handley, 10am

Fareham Wheelers i/c 15, Soberton, 8.30am

Tuesday - New Forest CC Club 25, Fritham, 7pm

Thursday - South Hampshire CTC Club 10, Calmore, 7pm