Graeme (45) will team up with Bearsden brothers David and Steven Anderson for the Musselburgh Three Up Team Time Trial, which takes place over three eight mile circuits. The team is hoping to improve on their sixth place finish last year.

The Glasgow Nightingales club member, who is currently recovering from a chest infection, said he hoped he would be fit enough to take part in the race.

Speaking earlier this week to Herald Sport, the draftsman said: "Fingers crossed I'll be okay, but if you have a cold in your lungs it can severely restrict your performance.

"If you can't use your lungs properly then you can't get oxygen to the necessary muscles quickly enough."

However, Graeme believes that as the event is the first big race of the new season, other factors will come into play.

He admitted: "As a team we will be keen to see how useful all the training for the new season has been. It has been a long hard winter and, with all the snow on the roads, practicing has not been very easy.

"I would be happy if we finished in the top 10 so early in the season, beating our sixth place last year, and a podium place would be just fantastic."

Many of the other riders will also be keen to see how their winter training has prepared them for the new campaign.

Graeme believes it will be hard to predict a total time for the team because they have not cycled the new course and weather conditions could play a major part in finishing times.

Giving a rough prediction, Graeme reckoned: "If it is a flat course and there is no wind, we should do it in under an hour. But if it's hilly it could be over an hour.

"Also, the wind will take its toll. You never get back the time you spend fighting into the wind."