A MAJOR two-day cycling event, which would see around 60 cyclists competing for a prize fund of £850, is set to return to Dundee next year.

Dundee Thistle cycling club is in talks with the sports governing body, the Scottish Cycling Union, and hopes to promote a three-race series for cyclists just a notch or two down from the best in the country.

The SCU's 2005 calendar is already packed, but Thistle chairman Ali Chisholm believes the Dundee-based event would be a major attraction for racers from Scotland and the north of England. A similar series was last held in the city about five years ago but a lack of sponsorship meant that it could not be maintained.

However, local development company Duncarse Ltd is funding Dundee Thistle for £44500 over the next three years, making the event a viable proposition once again. Plans are being drawn up for the routes for the three races will take, although road safety considerations mean that it is unlikely there will be any racing on the streets of Dundee.

Ali said, We've still to decide a date but the first race would start on a Saturday and will be a time trial event. This will probably involve a lap of the Law and then proceed up to the top just to sort the riders out! In the afternoon, there will be a 60-mile road race which might have a neutral' start in Dundee where the riders cycle out from the city in a procession but don't actually race against each other.

Duncarse have plans to convert the former Liff Hospital into a luxury housing development and it's possible the race would start there. On Sunday, there would be another road race from must outside Muirhead along the Coupar Angus road to Tullybaccart and back through Knapp. The series wouldn't be aimed at the Elite or Category 1 riders, who are semi-professional, but the Category 2 racers.