Lara Gillespie has hit the headlines in recent months for her track exploits, including three 4th places at the European Championships and all but securing team pursuit Olympic qualification, but now she is back in action with her road trade team.
The 22-year-old is again riding for UAE Development Team this year, after a debut campaign with them in 2023, and has shown good form immediately on her return to road race action.
She lined out in the 122.5km Ronde de Mouscron (1.1) yesterday and took a very promising 13th place, just a few seconds behind the riders sprinting for victory at the end of a tough contest.
The race was a wearing down process, rather that one where breakaways went clear, only to be reeled in. Instead, the pace - much of it applied by Uno X - saw the field gradually whittled down, with a number of riders also falling victim to crashes.
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Gillespie, in her Irish elite road race champion's kit, held her place in the front group - which numbered only 40 riders at the finish - and placed 13th.
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Daria Pikulik (Human Powered Health) put in a fantastic kick up the drag to the line in Mouscron to win. The Polish rider beat Finland's Anniina Ahtosalo (Uno-X Mobility) into 2nd place, with Italy's Martina Fidanza (CERATIZIT-WNT Pro Cycling Team) in 3rd.
Gillespie found herself on the wrong side if a small gap that opened in the final kick for the line, with the first seven riders credited with the same time, then four seconds to the next four. Gillespie was in the next section of the bunch, at seven seconds.
That 13th place, in her first road race of the season after her track commitments with the Irish national team in recent months, suggests she is already finding her road legs. She is down to ride Scheldeprijs in Belgium tomorrow.
Fellow Irish rider Fiona Mangan (Cynisca Cycling) was also in action at Ronde de Mouscron yesterday and finished 73rd, in a group at 3:19. Mangan is scheduled to ride Région Pays de la Loire Tour in France tomorrow.
