Cycling: Evan Oliphant misses out on podium finish

Lothians cyclist Evan Oliphant continued his run of close calls when he was narrowly foiled after a brave effort to secure a podium finish at the Stockton Grand Prix on Teesside, eventually taking fourth place.
By COLIN RENTON
Published 14th Jul 2015, 12:00 BST

The 31-year-old Team Raleigh-GAC rider has been one of the busiest men in the peloton over recent weeks and he added an outing in Friday’s Stockton Criterium – a fifth place finish confirmed his current good form – to his schedule.

That was followed by 
Sunday’s Grand Prix when a fast-paced 110-mile event averaged 28 miles in the opening two hours of racing. A two-man breakaway carved out a lead of almost a minute and covered almost 46 miles at the head of the field before being reeled in.

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Oliphant was well placed 
entering the closing stages, but missed out on the vital attack as Chris Opie (One Pro Cycling) escaped from the group and raced to victory ahead of Jonathan McEvoy (NFTO) and Sam Lowe, who pipped his colleague Oliphant to claim third spot.

Around half of the starters failed to finish, but among those who did complete the route were Capital riders Phil Trodden (Team Moda Anon) and Sean Noon (Spokes RT).

Related topics:LothiansTeesside