Having been Irish elite national champion for the past two years, Lara Gillespie will be missing from the National Cyclocross Championships in Co Sligo tomorrow.
The UCD Cycling Club rider is
currently among a group of Irish track cyclists at a training camp in Spain.
She has been unable to return home from that Mallorca camp for this weekend and so a new champion will be crowned in the elite women’s race tomorrow.
Two years ago, aged just 16 years, Gillespie won her first Irish elite cyclocross crown from Michelle Geoghegan (Team Jadan-Weldtite) and Maeve Morrogh (Defence Forces) in Co Wicklow.
Last year she defended her title; beating Maria Larkin (The Call Up p/b Bike Law) and Lucy O’Donnell (O’Leary Stone Kanturk) in Co Cork.
Gillespie (18) has recently started university at UCD on a cycling scholarship and so has moved to the college’s cycling club, from Orwell Wheelers.
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She will miss tomorrow’s women’s title race in Enniscrone because she is working towards competing at the next UCI World Cup meeting in Canada in a fortnight.
Following on from that outing on the boards in Milton in
two weeks time, Gillespie is also expected to be on the Irish team for the
World Track Championships in Berlin at the end of next month.
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Gillespie won three silvers at the junior track Europeans last year and also a bronze at the junior Worlds, in the individual pursuit.
She has already been part of the Irish elite team pursuit
line-up at UCI World Cups in recent months.
Indeed, she was among the team pursuit quartet that set a new Irish record at the UCI World Cup in Minsk in November; riding with Mia Griffin, Kelly Murphy and Alice Sharpe.
While Gillespie will be missing from the Ballina CC
promotion tomorrow, there is still plenty of firepower in the field.
The two women she beat last year, Larkin and O’Donnell,
are down to ride and will be ones to watch.
Larkin is based in North America and as well as being exposed to a higher level of racing there she has also competed in Europe of late.
O’Donnell rode very well on the road last year, making the Irish junior team for the World Championships in Yorkshire. She has also been in winning form on the domestic cyclocross scene in recent months.
Others in contention tomorrow include: Grace Young (Strata 3-VeloRevolution), Michelle Geoghegan (ILLI-Bikes), Niamh McKiverigan (Scott Quanta), Roisin Lally (Scott Quanta), Lisa Stapelbroek (Kenmare Cycling Club), Darcy Harkness (Carn Wheelers) and Stephanie Roche (Scott Quanta).
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