Olympians Annie Last and Liam Killeen plan to make their return to competition at round four of the British Cycling MTB Cross-Country Series.
Both are set to race at Sherwood Pines following long periods off due to injury.
Killeen sustained an open fracture dislocation of his ankle at the London 2012 Olympic Games and made his unofficial competitive racing comeback last month at Mountain Mayhem 24 hour as part of a team.
However, Sherwood will be the first cross-country event the five-time British champion has taken part in for nearly two years.
Meanwhile Annie Last has been managing an injury which saw her race only intermittently in 2013 and not at all in 2014.
In the intervening two years a new order has been established at the head of British cross-country racing and while the appearance of Killeen and Last is significant, it will not change the race for series champion.
Paul Oldham leads the men’s series standings, winning round two and finishing second at round three, while Steve James is in second position.
Current British champion and 2013 series winner Grant Ferguson is yet to claim victory at a round of the national series in 2014, however has posted impressive international results. After missing round three, he must score highly if he has any hopes of defending his title.
In the women’s category, the overall standings have been heavily influenced by overseas winners of two rounds and inconsistent appearances by the domestic title contenders.
Lee Craigie, Tracy Moseley, Beth Crumpton and Alice Barnes have all missed one round so far, with the standings topped by Kerry MacPhee, who has recorded a second and two fourth positions.
MacPhee though is missing through injury, recovering from an arm infection.
With the best four scores from five events to count, those who have already missed a round cannot afford any mistakes this weekend, if they want to remain in the hunt for the title.
Junior categories
The junior men’s standings have been dominated by Dylan Kerfoot-Robson to date. Winning the opening two rounds and second at Margam to Frazer Clacherty, both will miss Sherwood as they are on international duty, alongside third in the series Thomas Craig.
Following encouraging international performances, Isla Short has won all three of the junior women’s events to date and looks to defend her unbeaten record.
