Grant Ferguson will be among the leading medal contenders when Cathkin Braes hosts the cross-country mountain biking today.

The two-time British champion is one of three Scottish men alongside Kenta Gallagher and Gareth Montgomerie who will challenge for gold.

Ferguson, 20, from Peebles won a bronze medal in the Under-23 UCI World Cup in South Africa earlier this year. He exudes a quiet confidence, but does not want to get too far ahead of himself when it comes to stating his Glasgow 2014 ambitions.

"I'm going in with an open mind. There will be some strong riders and I need to make sure I'm in the right shape to be at the front. It will be a tactical race."

Gallagher, who took gold in the 2013 UCI mountain bike World Cup cross-country eliminator series, and Montgomerie, who represented Scotland in Melbourne eight years ago, could also challenge for a medal.

Their biggest rivals will include English rider Liam Killeen, a five-time British champion and winner of the gold when mountain biking was last part of the Games in Melbourne in 2006, who has been brought in to replace the injured David Fletcher. England's Annie Last is widely considered a favourite for the women's race but don't rule out Scotland's Lee Craigie, the 2013 British champion who won that title on the Cathkin Braes course in her hometown of Glasgow.

Craigie, 35, missed out on defending her title earlier this month after injuring a calf during the warm-up but is reported to be in good shape and ready to race today.

Also competing for Scotland are Kerry MacPhee, a former triathlete from South Uist who took silver behind Last in the elite women's British championships earlier this month and Jessie Roberts, a bronze medallist at the 2014 British championships and a former national junior duathlon champion.