Tom Barras will be looking to make it successive victories on local soil when he defends his Bermuda cycling Grand Prix title this weekend.

A champion's performance by Barras last time around saw the Englishman claim the overall title, finishing six points ahead of Bermuda's Garth Thomson.

The 30-year-old rider, who finished the 2007 UK national road racing season ranked in 13th place, swept aside all competition as he won the first two stages of the annual Grand Prix and placed second in the Sunday evening time trial to take top honours.

With Barras coming back and a wealth of talent on show in the two-day, three-race spectacle, Bermuda Bicycle Association (BBA) president Peter Dunne is excited about the weekend, and is hoping for even more rivalry than last year.

" . . . Barras will be back to defend his title in the Male 'A' race," said Dunne. "And he will be joined by several other UK riders.

"We are thrilled to have five guys from the HotTubes development team in the US participating in the Male 'A' race as well.

"These are all juniors but are fantastic athletes.

"One guy, Lawson Craddock, recently won the silver medal in the time trial at the Junior World Championships held in Moscow. He and the rest of his squad will provide major competition for our top riders.

"We expect the Male 'A' field to be approximately 25 riders with Male 'B' about 30. We're not sure about the junior categories but I think that we will get most of the younger riders who participate regularly in BBA events."

The weekend will also provide the last chance for many of the Island's best riders to lay claim for a spot on the Caribbean Championship side that will compete in Barbados soon.

The format for the Grand Prix is the same this year but with a different order of races.

Saturday morning will see the criterium at Morgan's Point starting at 9 a.m.

Sunday's time trial will take riders from Clearwater Beach out to the airport roundabout and back, starting at 8 a.m, while the event's crown jewel will be a criterium in Hamilton on Sunday afternoon, starting at 2 pm.

The Hamilton course will be the same as is used for the IBC Front Street criterium which will see the start/finish line in front of Butterfield Bank and will take competitors to the Birdcage, make a 180-degree turn back along Front Street, up Burnaby Street, right on Reid Street, another right on Court Street and back onto Front Street.

BBA recently received a donation from Butterfield Bank with those funds helping to stage the Grand Prix.

Dunne says he will be watching the racing with great anticipation, hoping for both entertainment and drama.

"We are also in the final week of selection of our squad for the Caribbean Cycling Championships that will be held in Barbados. All of our considered riders will be testing themselves with the overseas competition to demonstrate that they should be selected to represent Bermuda.

"The support from Butterfield will allow us to run the race with prize-money, qualified timekeeping services and social events.

"This is intended to be a break-even event for the BBA.

"The plan has always been to host a stage race that allows local riders to show their skills against new competition and introduce more people in Bermuda to the sport."

The deadline for entries is tomorrow evening and forms can be submitted online through BikeReg.com.