2024 Drummond Trophy: preview and startlist

The second round of Scottish Alba Road Series takes place on Sunday with the historic Drummond Trophy (Nat B).

Featured image: Ian Henderson

What is it?

Organised by Glenmarnock Wheelers, the Drummond Trophy stands as one of Scotland’s premier annual road races, boasting a legacy of over half a century. Serving as the second event of the 2024 Scottish Alba Road Series, it draws top cyclists from around the region and beyond.

The race boasts a storied history of champions. While a comprehensive list of past winners eluded our search, notable victors of past editions include the esteemed Richard Moore, who claimed victory in 1999. Pete Williams secured the title twice, in 2009 and 2012, followed by Dave Clark in 2014 and Steve Lampier in 2017. Aussie Michael Storer, a WorldTour pro, won the race in 2018. The most recent champion is Tim Shoreman of Wheelbase CabTech Castelli, who emerged victorious in 2022 and returns this season to defend his crown. Last year’s edition was cancelled.

Showman’s teammate Tom Martin currently leads the Scottish Alba Road Series after winning round one at the Gifford Road Race but with a Martin a nonstarter at Drummond, second-placed Alex Luhrs will begin the Drummond Trophy as the highest-ranked rider in the series.

Route

The race takes in seven laps of the Drumclog Circuit. The circuit starts and finishes by Strathaven (pronounced Stray-vin) in South Lanarkshire and takes in a loop to the southwest of the town.

With 212m of elevation over 20.7km, the circuit is a typically rolling affair, the sharpest section of climbing appearing 11km into the circuit with the Dungavel climb, which reaches double digit gradients in places. The total race length is 136km.

Timings

The race begins at 10.00, rolling out from Strathaven Leisure Centre.

Riders to watch

2022 winner Tim Shoreman (Wheelbase CabTech Castelli) starts the race as the favorite. He was the only one who could disrupt Saint Piran’s attempt at a podium stranglehold at the East Cleveland Classic. A strong rider with a fast finish, he will be difficult to beat. Without any teammates, however, he’ll need to operate smartly.

Alex Luhrs (Leadout Performance) has impressed since his return to road racing this year. The former Ribble team rider was second in the Gifford Road Race last month, and will hope to go one better this weekend. John Archibald is another danger man. The time trial specialist was second at the Danum Trophy recently, so clearly has the form to pull off a win.

Moonglu RT’s William Taylor has been one of the most active riders in domestic races this year. His aggressive racing earned him a podium at the Gifford Road Race. But perhaps his most impressive feat this season was 8th in the East Cleveland Classic. A top ten for a rider on a small elite team was an outstanding ride.

The specific relevant content for this request, if necessary, delimited with characters: Others to watch include Murray Souter (Torvelo Racing), who finished fifth at Gifford, Oliver Dawson (Wolf Cycles), who achieved a top ten placement at Gifford and secured a top 20 position at Capernwray, and young Finn McHenry (The Cycling Academy), another rider who featured in the top ten at Gifford.

Provisional startlist

Bib	Rider	Age	Team	Pts
1	Alex Mutter	Senior	Private Member	5
2	John Archibald	Senior	HUUB WattShop	52
3	Alasdair Baillie	Junior	Velocity 44 RT	0
4	Elliot Bain	U23	Vanelli-Project Go	0
5	Sam Barbour	Senior	Ribble rechrg Race Team	0
6	Kevin Barclay	Senior	dooleys cycles	0
7	Adam Bent	U23	Wolf Cycles	0
8	Noah Bleteau	Junior	The Cycling Academy	0
9	Greig Brown	Senior	Vanelli-Project Go	0
10	Andrew Bruce	Senior	Vanelli-Project Go	0
11	Conal Davidson	U23	Vanelli-Project Go	2
12	Oliver Dawson	Senior	Wolf Cycles	37
13	Sean Delaney	Senior	Velocita Coaching Race Team	0
14	Gavin Dempster	Senior	Torvelo Racing	0
15	Colin Dyer	Senior	Vanelli-Project Go	0
16	William Dykes	U23	Vanelli-Project Go	0
17	Samuel Edgar	Junior	Ribble rechrg Race Team	0
18	Alexander Foster	Senior	Wolf Cycles	0
19	Keir Gaffney	U23	Vanelli-Project Go	6
20	Thomas Gelati	Senior	05/03	0
21	Ben Gibson	U23	Vanelli-Project Go	0
22	Corin Halliday	Senior	Torvelo Racing	0
23	Ben Harrison	Senior	Spectrum Racing	0
24	Graham Hollinger	Senior	Torvelo Racing	0
25	Matthew Jones	Senior	Spectrum Racing	0
26	Daniel Kendall	Senior	Wolf Cycles	0
27	Kris Lindsay	Senior	Veloclub Edinburgh	0
28	Alex Luhrs	Senior	Leadout Performance	83
29	Hamish MacLaren	U23	Private Member	0
30	Ross MacMillan	Senior	Studio Velo	0
32	Alasdair McAlpine	Senior	Glasgow United CC	0
33	Richard McDonald	Senior	Vanelli-Project Go	0
34	Finn McHenry	U23	The Cycling Academy	27
35	Conor McKinnon	U23	Dolan Ellesse Race Team	0
36	Alastair McNicol	Senior	dooleys cycles	17
37	Ciaran McSherry	U23	05/03	7
39	Ben Mewes	Senior	Moonglu Race Team	0
40	Louis Moore	Senior	Wheelbase CabTech Castelli	0
42	Cameron Muir	Senior	Wallacehill CC	0
43	Harry Mustard	Senior	Edinburgh RC	0
45	Jack Rees	Senior	Moonglu Race Team	11
46	Fergus Robinson	U23	Ribble rechrg Race Team	0
47	Lee Rosie	U23	Wheelbase CabTech Castelli	2
48	Daniel Saba	Junior	Ribble rechrg Race Team	0
50	Callum Sharp	Senior	Veloclub Edinburgh	3
51	Tim Shoreman	Senior	Wheelbase CabTech Castelli	85
52	Murray Souter	Senior	Torvelo Racing	35
53	Jake Speed	Junior	The Cycling Academy	0
55	William Taylor	Senior	Moonglu Race Team	99
56	Ross Turner	Senior	Leadout Performance	0
59	Liam White	Senior	Torvelo Racing	0
61	Rafe Williams	Senior	Team Judge Tyrekey	0
62	Thomas Wisdish	Junior	Spokes Racing Team	0
63	Joseph Wright	Senior	Wolf Cycles	0