Lara Gillespie may not have added a third stage win today to her tally at Giro Mediterraneo Rosa (2.2) but she helped one of her team mates to victory and also wrapped up the general classification win for herself.
The 23-year-old, who took the leader's jersey on stage 2 solo with a near 80km breakaway, never looked under pressure since then, even going on to win stage 3 for back-to-back victories. She also claimed two 2nd places on stages, ensuring she also won the points classification.
The UAE Development Team rider's overall win is the best of her fledgling pro road career to date, coming just weeks after she qualified for her first Olympic Games, as part of the Irish track team.
Today she also became only the second women in the history of Irish cycling to win a UCI-ranked stage race, coming a year after Megan Armitage (EF Education-Cannondale) became the first.
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On the final stage of Giro Mediterraneo Rosa today, featuring a modest claim on each of the three passages of the circuit in Motta Montecorvino, the field once again split to pieces.
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Gillespie was to the fore throughout with her team mates as they together they formed, by far, the strongest unit in the race. And after Gillespie and team mate Federica Venturelli had won stages 2, 3 and 4, today it fell to a Venturelli again to claim the final stage.
The Italian 19-year-old proved very strong in the final, up the climb to the line, and took victory by Romina Hinojosa (AR Monex Pro CyclingTeam) and Fernanda Anabel Yapura (Team Komugi-Grand Est).
After not finishing out of the top 2 in the first four stages of the race, Gillespie was further back today; in 16th some 21 seconds down on her stage-winning team mate.
However, with a three-minute cushion over her closest rivals - after winning stage 2 solo by 3:24 - the Irish road race champion had the race sewn up days ago.
