All eyes on Lara Gillespie, team pursuiters at World Champs opener | Sticky Bottle

*The team pursuiters will be in action on the opening day of the World Track Championships in Paris tomorrow, Wednesday (Photo: Drew Kaplan)*

Irish eyes will be on the team pursuit line-up and Lara Gillespie on the opening day of the UCU World Track Championships in Paris tomorrow. Gillespie will be part of the team pursuit line-up with Emily Kay, Kelly Murphy, Alice Sharpe and will also be in action in the bunch later in the day.

Gillespie, who stormed back into form with two stage wins at Rás na mBan last month, will ride the scratch race final - a 10km race - after recovering from her team pursuit efforts in the qualifying round earlier in the day.

The team pursuiters have repeatedly lowered the national record in recent years as well as winning a World Cup last year and a bronze medal at the Europeans. They go into this Worlds looking to stay in touch with the best squads in the world, with a new national record and a top eight finish their goal.

They are currently ranked fifth in the world in the UCI 2022 team pursuit rankings, with eight teams due to qualify for the 2024 Olympics; meaning the top eight at these worlds is the standard they are aiming for at this level, starting with qualifying tomorrow.

For Gillespie, tomorrow's scratch race will offer her a new opportunity to gauge her level as her recovery from illness and injury for a period of over a year is gaining pace. She said during her recent Rás na mBan rides she felt like she was in great condition, and improving, with new personal bests for her power output.

She began her international comeback at the U23 European Track Championships in Portugal in July, when she took a number of 5th places in events. These elite worlds in Paris will obviously be of a much higher standard. However, Gillespie has also made progress since the summer and she will look to throw herself into the thick of the action in the bunch tomorrow.

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Ireland's sole sprinter in the Irish team, Orla Walsh, will compete in the sprint qualifiers on Thursday, when Alice Sharpe will also fly the flag for Ireland in the elimination race. On Friday, Emily Kay is the sole rider on the track, where she will take on the omnium.

On Saturday, Walsh will again be in action - in the 500m TT qualifying - while Murphy will ride the individual pursuit qualifying. Mia Griffin and Sharpe will also be in action in the madison.