Lara Gillespie (UAE Team ADQ) is riding high after her gold medal win at last week's UCI World Track Championships in Chile. But even before that huge result, she had enjoyed an historic road season, certainly in the context of Irish cycling.
Never before has an Irish woman secured big results in UCI-ranked races with the frequency Gillespie did this year, including victory at A Travers les Hauts de France (1.1) last month. And the sheer reliability of her strike rate has lifted her to an historic position in the end of year UCI road rankings.
The fact she achieved what she did on the road despite finding time to win European and world titles on the track - all while missing a month of racing due to crash injuries - was nothing short of remarkable.
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She was one of 15 Irish women to feature (see full list below) in the end of year UCI rider rankings, with two in particular - Gillespie and Mia Griffin (Roland Le Dévoluy) - really standing out.
Griffin this year took her first win in an international UCI-ranked road race - a stage at Tour El Salvador (2.1). And Gillespie's win in France last month was the first UCI-ranked one-day race ever won by an Irish woman.
Gillespie ended the season as the 38th ranked rider in the world, on 1,196 points. But for missing a month of racing - from mid June due to a crash at Elmos Dwars door het Hageland (1.1) in Belgium - she very likely would have finished in the top 20.
Griffin - the national road race champion this year and a regular in the top 10 in European races - also had a stellar season, reflected in the fact she has now been snapped up for three seasons by Picnic PostNL.
The Kilkenny woman finished 80th in the rankings on 562 points, with Westmeath's Caoimhe O'Brian (Cynisca Cycling) next best of the Irish, in 279th on 132 points.
Wicklow's Gillespie was 5th in the one-day Classic Brugge-De Panne WE (1.WWT) this year, scoring 180 points, her biggest tally from any one race. That was followed by 140 points for 6th at Gent-Wevelgem (1.WWT) three days later.
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Her 2nd place, behind Dutch champion Lorena Wiebes, in La Choralis Fourmies Féminine (1.Pro) last month was worth 150 points while her 3rd place at Danilith Nokere Koerse (1.Pro) was worth 125 points. Gillespie's win in France last month was also worth 125 points.
Griffin scored 100 points for winning the road race at the National Road Championships in Co Meath in June. Her 3rd place at Grand Prix El Salvador (1.1) in April was worth 70 points and her 4th in Grand Prix Surf City (1.1) two days later scored her 60 points.
O'Brien was 2nd to Griffin in the road race at the Nationals, which secured for her 75 points. Her 9th at the Maryland Cycling Classic Women (1.1) in the US at the end of the season, arguably her best ever international result, was worth 25 points.
The only other Irish rider to feature in the top 500 was Emma Jeffers, who was riding for Liv AlUla Jayco Women's Continental Team; 430th in the rankings on 79.33 points. She was 4th - and took U23 gold - in the women's road race at the Nationals year, taking 50 points.
Jeffers also won two European races this season, stages of Premondiale Giro Toscana Int. Femminile - Memorial Michela Fanini (2.2) and Giro Mediterraneo in Rosa (2.2), both of which were worth five points in the rankings.
Overall, Demi Vollering (FDJ-Suez) was top-ranked rider this year, on 4,642.57. Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-ProTime) was next, in 2nd place on 4,326 points, and Marlen Reusser (Movistar Team), the world and European TT champion this year, was 3rd with 3,397.14 points.
UCI Rankings 2025 | Top 40
- VOLLERING Demi FDJ-SUEZ 4642.57
- WIEBES Lorena TEAM SD WORX - PROTIME 4326
- REUSSER Marlen MOVISTAR TEAM 3397.14
- LONGO BORGHINI Elisa UAE TEAM ADQ 3053
- BALSAMO Elisa LIDL - TREK 2721
- CHABBEY Elise FDJ-SUEZ 2167
- LABOUS Juliette FDJ-SUEZ 2125.23
- LE COURT DE BILLOT Mary Patricia Kimberley AG INSURANCE - SOUDAL TEAM 2082
- NIEWIADOMA-PHINNEY Katarzyna Anna CANYON//SRAM ZONDACRYPTO 1946.86
- FISHER-BLACK Niamh LIDL - TREK 1941.14
- PIETERSE Puck FENIX-DECEUNINCK 1881
- BREDEWOLD Mischa TEAM SD WORX - PROTIME 1821.71
- FERRAND PREVOT Pauline TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE 1780.86
- VAN DER BREGGEN Anna TEAM SD WORX - PROTIME 1751.71
- SWINKELS Karlijn UAE TEAM ADQ 1744
- VOS Marianne TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE 1682.86
- RÜEGG Noemi EF EDUCATION - OATLY 1675
- WOLLASTON Ally Marée FDJ-SUEZ 1607.57
- KASTELIJN Yara FENIX-DECEUNINCK 1570
- KERBAOL Cedrine EF EDUCATION - OATLY 1461.09
- CONSONNI Chiara CANYON//SRAM ZONDACRYPTO 1452
- FERGUSON Cat MOVISTAR TEAM 1446.14
- GARCIA CAÑELLAS Margarita Victo LIV-ALULA-JAYCO 1318.29
- TRINCA COLONEL Monica LIV-ALULA-JAYCO 1259.29
- BLASI CAIROL Paula UAE TEAM ADQ 1200.33
- GASPARRINI Eleonora Camilla UAE TEAM ADQ 1198
- LIPPERT Liane MOVISTAR TEAM 1196.14
- GILLESPIE Lara UAE TEAM ADQ 1196
- KOPECKY Lotte TEAM SD WORX - PROTIME 1184
- ZANETTI Linda UNO-X MOBILITY 1178
- OSTOLAZA ZABALA Usoa LABORAL KUTXA - FUNDACION EUSKADI 1164.33
- MARKUS Riejanne LIDL - TREK 1164.14
- WLODARCZYK Dominika UAE TEAM ADQ 1120
- OTTESTAD Mie Bjørndal UNO-X MOBILITY 1108
- NIEDERMAIER Antonia CANYON//SRAM ZONDACRYPTO 1106.67
- HENDERSON Anna LIDL - TREK 1087.14
- AALERUD Katrine UNO-X MOBILITY 1073
- ANDERSSON Caroline LIV-ALULA-JAYCO 1053
- VAN DAM Sarah CERATIZIT PRO CYCLING TEAM 1037
- ŽIGART Urška AG INSURANCE - SOUDAL TEAM 1017
UCI End of Season Rankings | How the Irish did
28 GILLESPIE Lara UAE TEAM ADQ 1,196
80 GRIFFIN Mia ROLAND LE DEVOLUY 562
279 O'BRIEN Caoimhe CYNISCA CYCLING 132
430 JEFFERS Emma LIV-ALULA-JAYCO 79.33
558 LENEHAN Marine 60
613 MURPHY Kelly 50
657 MANGAN Fiona WINSPACE ORANGE SEAL 46
676 O'BRIEN Aoife DAS-HUTCHINSON 43
694 KELLY Linda 40
943 CONWAY Abi 20
969 BENEZET MINNS Lucy LOTTO LADIES 18
1,182 DOHERTY Aine 8
1,288 BURNS Eileen 5
1,509 WONG Esther 3
1,557 MORAN Carmel 1
