Evan
Oliphant - The season so far
Wednesday 9th May, 2007
by Ed Hood
What have you ridden this year?
"I’ve ridden about a dozen races; it’s less than
I would like, but I was sick around De Panne time and missed quite
a number of events.
"That’s the thing about six of us sharing
the house here, if one gets sick then you all do, it was Dan Fleeman
who was sick first on that occasion.
"The toughest races I’ve ridden have
been in Germany, I rode the Rund um Koln (203 kilometres, won by Juan
Jose Haedo of CSC) and the Rund um den Henninger Turm (approx. 200
kilometres, won by Patrik Sinkewitz of T-Mobile –and Britain’s
Barry Hoban in 1966) they were horrible! I also rode the Scheldeprijs,
which ‘Cav’ (Mark Cavendish of GB and T-Mobile) won, it
wasn’t bad because it’s pan-flat.
"It wasn’t flat in Germany though, Henninger Turm goes
up into the Taunus Mountains. My best result was at Drenthe in Holland
where I got 15th, I was away on my own going for 7th but I got caught
with 300 metres to go."
What’s coming up next? "The
Dunkirk Four Day – but it’s actually six days; I was just
looking at the start sheet and half the teams lining-up are Pro Tour.
"I think I may be home after that to ride
the Scottish 10 and road race; we’ve nothing planned until the
Tours of Belgium and Luxembourg, I’d prefer to ride the latter
because it’s a bigger race.
"The thing is, because we’re pro continental
we can only really ride hard races and you are up against Pro Tour
guys in everything you ride. Eric Vanderaerden, our team manager has
said that it should be easier to get results now that the classics
season is finished, guys won’t be so full-on and a lot of them
will be thinking about the Tour.
"The team is riding the Tour of Britain, I’m
not sure yet if will be though – that’ll be about the
smallest race we ride all year. When you see the crowds at German
races you realise that cycling isn’t a big sport in Britain
– you can’t compare it to the continent."
What are your goals for the rest of the
season? "To get top three placings and get noticed,
but like I said, that’s difficult because of the standard of
the races we ride. I also want to win the British road race championship."
How’s DFL? "Good; better
than I imagined it would be, well organised and the programme is good
too – no complaints. The house where we say is fine, a maximum
of six of us stay there but just now, for example, there are only
three of us, so it’s not crowded."
What’s DFL’s best result so
far? "Jens Mouris (Holland) got a top ten in West Flanders
but we’re hoping for better things over the next few weeks."
Nico Mattan is proving to be a great Road
Captain for the DFL boys.
How’s Nico Mattan doing as team captain?
"He’s very keen to help and great when it comes to race
rehearsals because he knows all the courses so well. In the races
he’s always on the radio telling us what’s coming-up,
where to sit in the bunch and to move-up if we have to.
"I
hadn’t realised how popular he is here, when you’re out
on the bike and people in cars see the DFL jersey they lean out of
the window and shout 'Where’s Nico?'"
Who’s impressing you? "There’s
not really one person who I would point to, but CSC are certainly
the most impressive team. They are always willing to race and are
represented in every move; some of the Pro Tour teams sit back and
leave it to others to make the racing but CSC go with everything right
from the start."
Favourite things about Belgium?
"The waffles! I even eat them in races.
The weather has been great too; I haven’t raced in the rain
yet, although
the weather is forecast to break soon.
"I also really like the fact that drivers
respect you, no one blasts horns at you and they’ll wait until
they can pass if you are riding two-abreast."
Least favourites? "The cross-winds!"
What do you miss about Scotland?
"I’ve been away so much that I don’t really miss
anything, I was in Australia for the whole winter then I’ve
been here all season so far."
Veloresults will be at the Scottish
10 and road race
champs so we’ll catch-up with Evan at one or both. In
the meantime, good luck at Dunkirk, Evan.
