Lara Gillespie is on the cusp of the first general classification victory of her pro career after looking in control again today on the penultimate stage of Giro Mediterraneo Rosa (2.2) in Italy today.
The Irish rider, who had already won two stages and took a 2nd place on the first three stages, was 2nd again today; this time to her UAE Development Team mate mate Federica Venturelli.
They proved strongest on the uphill sprint to the line today in Castelnuovo della Daunia, after 95.9km of racing, on the stage where three passages of the finishing climb trimmed the main field back to less than 20 riders.
And though Gillespie has been focused on track of late - qualifying for the Olympics with the Ireland team pursuit line-up - she was well able for the pace where the road kicked up.
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The front group split a little in the final push to the finish line, which ensured Gillespie extended her advantage over her rivals in the general classification, though she hardly needed to.
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Having won the second stage of the race solo by a whopping 3:24 - a more on most of the field - the 23-year-old immediately looked assured of overall victory, barring incident.
And since then, Gillespie and her team have looked like they are in charge of this race; now with their third 1-2 on stages in three days. Gillespie also leads overall and the points classification while her team mate Federica Venturelli, aged just 19-years, leads the young rider classification.
Gillespie goes into tomorrow's final stage - 92.1km from Foggia to Motta Montecorvino - with a commanding lead of 3:32 over team mate Venturelli, with stage 1 winner Giada Borghesi (BTC City Ljubljana Zhiraf Ambedo) 3rd at 3:58.
Tomorrow's stage is similar to today's, with a modest climb to the line, though it should not pose Gillespie any more challenge that today's final rise to the line, which she easily coped with.
