Ireland's Lara Gillespie has been recovering from illness but still secured a podium finish in her last race and will be back in action tomorrow (Photo: Facepeeters)
Ireland's pro riders will be back in Belgian classics action tomorrow, Thursday, with Mia Griffin (Picnic PostNL), Lara Gillespie (UAE Team ADQ) and Caoimhe O'Brien (EF Education-Oatly) lining out in Ronde van Brugge.
The 143.7km World Tour race is pan flat, with just two cobble sectors, and if the wind blows it is the key factor that will dictate the outcome of the race.
Gillespie has had to contend with a bout of illness lately, requiring antibiotics. But she bounced back with a strong 3rd place finish at Danilith Nokere Koerse (1.Pro) last week, after winning Beobank Samyn Ladies (1.1) three weeks ago.
Her positioning and decision-making in the sprint last week looked like her best of the season to date. And though she lacked some of her usual punch when she kicked for the line, probably due to her recent illness, she still took a top result.
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Ronde van Brugge looks like an excellent chance for Gillespie, if she is fully recovered, even though the Wicklow rider would prefer a slightly more demanding course.
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She will be up against other top sprinters in the shape of former world champion Elisa Balsamo (Lidl-Trek), Australian road race champion Ally Wollaston (FDJ United-SUEZ) and three-time Giro stage winner Chiara Consonni (CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto).
Charlotte Kool (Fenix-Premier Tech), who denied the Irish woman victory in the recent Omloop van het Hageland (1.1) will also be in action.
However, Gillespie is capable of beating any of them on her day and would dearly love a bunch sprint victory, for what would be her first World Tour win.
Griffin is another rider who is also more than capable of getting into the mix in a sprint finish at this level, having taken her first pro victory from the sprint last year at Tour El Salvador (2.1).
She has been settling in her new team, Picnic PostNL since the start of the season, and has been on team duties. While she crashed at Nokere Koerse, her injuries appear to have been superficial.
O'Brien is another rider settling into a new team and this is her first year riding for a World Tour squad. She finished Giro dell'Appennino Donne (1.1) at the weekend in 53rd and will now look to start building momentum, and gaining more experience at this level, in the weeks ahead.
