Oliphant finishes third in Drummond Trophy race

Scottish cycling road race champion Evan Oliphant got the better of his fellow Lothians riders James McCallum and Gary Hand to scoop a share of the generous prize fund at yesterday’s Drummond Trophy in Strathaven, writes COLIN RENTON.

But, Oliphant, riding for Team Raleigh, had to settle for third place in a high-class field for the 56th edition of the race. He featured in an eight-man break that included two of his colleagues but also included a trio from the powerful Node 4 squad.

And Oliphant’s team-mates were unable to help him repeat the win he recorded in 2010 as Node 4 duo Pete Williams of England and New Zealander Mike Northey broke away in the latter stages and contested the final sprint in which Williams took the honours.

However, the Capital man had enough in reserve to win the contest for third spot, while Rapha Condor-Sharp’s McCallum, who had been dropped from the breakaway group in the closing stages of the 85-mile event together with Hand, of the Pedal Power team, won the sprint for eighth place between the pair.

Meanwhile, Robin Wilkins of the Edinburgh outfit Velo Ecosse was 13th, six places ahead of team-mate, Eddie Addis.