Irish results at Junior & U23 European Track Champs, Portugal

*Lara Gillespie take three 5th places in the U23 races at the Europeans and her consistency showed she is very much getting back on track after a difficult year for the 21-year-old*

A small Irish team competed in the junior and U23 European Track Championships in Anadia, Portugal, which ended yesterday, Tuesday. While there were no medals this time for the Irish team, the best results came from the team's most prolific rider, Lara Gillespie.

The 21-year-old from Enniskerry, Co Wicklow, claimed a silver medal at these championships last year before being forced out due to injury. And during most of the time since then she has been trying to recover from illness and injury, before a recent return to competition.

Gillespie took 5th in both the elimination race, the scratch race and the points race in Anadia, Portugal, and those results signal that the process of returning to top condition is well underway.

In the points race, for example, she was very close to a medal; winning one of the sprints and also being among six of the riders to gain a lap in the 18-rider race. However, when two of the six then gained a further lap, that too care of gold and silver, with the others fighting for the bronze.

As well as winning one sprint - for five points - Gillespie was 2nd in another and 3rd in the final sprint, where double points were on offer. She finished on a tally of 32 points, just six short of a medal.

*Aoife O'Brien of Ireland in action in the junior madison, which she rode with Erin Creighton*

Gillespie (UCD Cycling Club) - who already has six medals at the junior and U23 Europeans in her palmares and one from the junior worlds - was the only Irish U23 rider in action at the Europeans. A total of four juniors were also selected; Erin Creighton (McConvey Cycles), Aoife O'Brien (Torelli-Assure-Cayman Islands-Scimitar), Patrick O'Loughlin (Panduit Carrick Wheelers) and Niall McLoughlin (Westport Covey Wheelers).

The best result by the juniors was O'Brien's 6th place in the points race; taking 4th in one of the sprints and 2nd in the penultimate sprint and the final sprint - a very good sign that she remained very strong through to the end of the race. Two riders gained two laps and another gained one, which ensured they took the medals.