|
British Cycling Premier Calendar leader Evan Oliphant cannot wait to compete in the British Cycling National Road Race Championships in his home country.
The Scotsman will enjoy a partisan crowd in Glasgow on the 23 June when the British title is decided in the city centre.
Oliphant, who has ridden for Team Raleigh since 2012, is a five time Scottish national road champion - most recently in 2011 - but admits winning the British jersey would be the ultimate accolade.
“It’d be amazing for me coming from Scotland, it’s kind of my local race,” Oliphant said.
“I live in Edinburgh but I’m in Glasgow a lot at the new [Sir Chris Hoy] velodrome so I’m sure I’d have lots of fans and supporters in Glasgow. It’d mean more to win it there than anywhere else for me.”
“It’d be amazing for me coming from Scotland, it’s kind of my local race.”
Evan Oliphant
A superb overall victory in the Tour of the Reservoir Two-Day race including a fine solo win on the last stage earmarked Oliphant as genuine Premier Calendar contender, before a fifteenth placed finish at the Lincoln Grand Prix saw Oliphant leapfrog Chris Opie into first place in the standings.
The 14.2-kilometre circuit has impressed Oliphant who anticipates the bunch to be whittled down in the latter stages of the 184.6-kilometre riders will navigate over 13 laps.
“It’s good, I don’t know it exactly the whole course but I know the town centre parks,” Oliphant said.
“It’s quite up and down, lots of short climbs and corners a bit like the Commonwealth Games circuit in Melbourne. I think we’re going to use the same circuit for the Glasgow Commonwealth Games,” added Oliphant, who represented Scotland at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Australia.
“I think towards the end it will start splitting up, there are just all those corners and climbs that will take its toll on everyone.”
The race will bring together the best of Britain’s domestic teams with UCI WorldTour riders including those of Team Sky, Mark Cavendish and Alex Dowsett.
Oliphant thinks Team Sky will again be the team to overcome if any rider is to break their dominance of the championships.
“The Sky team are bound to be the ones to watch, their guys have dominated the last two years so again I think they’re the ones to beat, everyone is going to be out to beat them,” Oliphant said.
