Riding her third World Championships of the year, Irish teenager Lara Gillespie is up for the challenge (Photo: Sean Rowe)

Lara Gillespie relishing challenge of Innsbruck Worlds

One of Ireland’s brightest hopes for the future, Lara Gillespie, finished 19th in the junior TT at the World Championships yesterday despite more drama that she would have liked.

She had fallen ill in the build-up to the race. And towards the end of her ride she mistakenly thought the finish was 1km closer to her than it actually was.

The Irish teenager wasn’t the only one to make that mistake. And she said it only served to drive her on even harder to the finish line.

One of her rivals rode flat out to the 1km banner and mistakenly thought she had finished.

She freewheeled and began to turn around only to be told to keep going as she hadn’t finished.

Thankfully Gillespie’s issue was a more minor misjudgement. And it didn’t impact negatively on her race.

Having come out of the European Track Championships last month with a points race gold medal and pursuit silver, she has clearly been in great form of late.

She then hit something of a bump in the road; falling ill just after taking a rest in the aftermath of the Europeans.

But she was happy after her ride yesterday, saying she enjoyed it and took a lot of experience from the race.

"I was happy because I pushed as hard as I could," she said. "I knew I was in good form from the track.

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“I had a bit of a rest after the Euros and (track) Worlds. I came back and I got a bit sick,” she added of coming out of her down time to prepare for these road Worlds in Innsbruck.

“I still got some good training in and was really looking forward to getting more experience.”

And once out on the 19.8km undulating course yesterday, she seemed to really relish the challenge.

"I just had like a moment of ‘Oh I can go harder here'. So I put my head down and that was good,” she said, adding the mix-up at the end had made her go faster.

“I thought the one kilometre to go arch was the actual finish. So I full-on sprinted,” she explained, adding she quickly realised the finish was still a little up the road.

“Then I went harder again and pushed harder. I pushed myself twice for the finish."

Gillespie is riding her third Worlds of the year in Innsbruck. She was an U16 last year but in her first weeks as a junior in January she won the elite women’s cyclocross championships.

She was then selected for the World Cyclocross Championships in Valkenburg. Because there was no junior race, the then 16-year-old rode the U23 event and placed 23rd.

Since then she has ridden the track Worlds and Europeans and now the road Worlds.

Having completed her TT yesterday she will also ride the junior women’s road race alongside another very promising Irish rider, Maeve Gallagher.