Lara Gillespie has taken silver in the U23 individual pursuit at the European Track Championships in the Netherlands. The 20-year-old from Enniskerry, Co Wicklow, went into the gold-silver ride, against Silvia Zanardi of Italy, as the favourite having been by far the fastest in qualifying.
The pressure was on Gillespie to replicate, or even better, her qualifying performance, and she led for the first 2km of the 3km race.
However, Zanardi appeared to have more staying power and in the last third of the race she pegged back Gillespie's advantage, of almost one second, and then started to put time into her Irish rival.
By the end of the race, Italian Zanardi had clocked a time of 3:33.59, some 2.954 seconds faster than Ireland’s Gillespie.
Zanardi's time in the gold-silver ride-off was much faster than her time in qualifying earlier today, when she did 3:36.910.
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Gillespie's time in the gold-silver ride was over two seconds slower than her qualifying performance, when she clocked 3:34.236.
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The Irish rider's silver this evening is her sixth medal at a Europeans, but her first at U23 level. The previous five medals came when she was a junior, including gold in the points race at the Europeans as a first-year junior in 2018.
Irish in action today
Aside from Gillespie’s medal-winning ride today, there were other Irish riders in action. Gaby Homer was also competing in the U23 individual pursuit and was 7th in qualifying in a time of 3:43.210.
Homer also rode
the elimination race today, and was 15th, while Christopher Donald rode the U23
men’s elimination race and was 16th.
Cian Keogh was
riding the U23 men’s individual pursuit and was 18th in qualifying, in a time
of 4:36.961.
Caoimhe May competed in the junior scratch race, placing
16th, while Odhran Doogan rode the junior me’s scratch race and was 15th.
The Irish junior men’s team pursuiters – Patrick O’Loughlin,
Odhran Doogan, Stefan Caulfield Drier and Niall McLoughlin – were 12th in
qualifying in a time of 4:23.527.
In the women’s
junior team pursuit qualifying, the Irish team – Mia Simmons, Caoimhe May, Erin
Grace Creighton and Katie Neill – placed 8th in a time of 5:00.231. They will
face Poland tomorrow in the first round of the competition.
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