Wedged between legs of the Pearl Izumi Tour Series in Motherwell and Edinburgh yesterday’s promotion in Glasgow of the Tour of Britain’s return north of the border was just the latest evidence of a remarkable growth in interest in cycling according to one of Scotland’s top riders.
Evan Oliphant opted out of Tuesday’s race in Motherwell in order to be fresh to compete in front of friends and family in the capital and reckons a combination of historic terrain around the Grassmarket and traditional Scottish weather promises excitement.
“Luckily the cobbled stretches are uphill, but it’s meant to be wet so there could be a few spills,” the Team Raleigh rider predicted.
Originally from Wick the 34-year-old moved to Edinburgh when he went to University, now lives in Tranent and has seen the sport burgeon across the region, riding as he does with clubs which meet at the Commonwealth pool and in East Lothian.
“I’ve been full-time since 2005 and in that time we’ve seen more and more people racing. You turn up on a Saturday morning and, depending on the weather, there can be as many as two or three hundred people of varying standards,” he said.
The reasons for that growth, which is reflected in two legs of the Tour Series coming to Scotland this year as well as the decision of Tour of Britain organisers to kick off September’s race in Glasgow following last year’s successful visit to Edinburgh and the Borders, are both lifestyle and practical he reckons.
“We are seeing a lot of people coming into the sport in their late forties and early fifties and they all seem to enjoy it, but it is also the best way to get around. I always prefer to cycle rather than drive in places like Edinburgh,” he noted.
“I spent some time in Australia and it is becoming more like the way it was there. It’s just a pity the climate isn’t similar.”
Being accustomed to the Scottish weather should, however, stand him in good stead for a race he has targeted in this third leg of the 10 event series which began on the Isle of Man and, following these two Scottish events, makes a stop off to Wales in Aberystwyth and six in England, finishing at Portsmouth next month.
“I was racing on Sunday so I took the Motherwell leg off and as well as it being my local event Edinburgh suits me because I enjoy the hills,” he explained.
“It's fantastic to have the opportunity to have a top race on my doorstep and I'm looking forward to getting stuck in in front of friends and family.
“There are a few supporting races so I’ll be able to keep an eye on those to see how tricky conditions are, but I’ve done well in a previous tour event in Edinburgh and in an Omnium which was held there, finishing third and fifth so I definitely feel I have a chance.”
His excitement was matched by that of Jon Mould, the Welshman who won the Motherwell race and whose JLT Condor team is leading the overall contest.
“I’m really looking forward to Edinburgh, it’s the best round of the series with the best crowds, so it’s my favourite one,” he said.
“It’s looking really good for the team so I think it should be a good round for us. We’ve got another strong team so we’ll go into the race quite hard and get stuck in.”
The competition gets underway with ‘The Grassmarket Scramble’, an open sprint hill climb time trial at 4pm with the Pearl Izumi Tour Series stage race setting off at 7.30pm over a spectator friendly 1.6 km course.
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