Lara Gillespie took arguably the biggest road win of her career on Monday, overpowering her breakaway companions with a superb sprint at the end of the Le Samyn race in Belgium.
The UAE Team ADQ professional was part of a group of 10 who pushed clear approximately halfway through the hilly 133.4km race and went on to the finish almost three minutes ahead of the peloton.
Gillespie had team-mate Elynor Bäckstedt for company and she helped set up the Enniskerry rider, who blasted clear of the remaining breakaway group inside the final 200 metres and put several bike lengths into them.
“I’m incredibly happy with this victory,” she said. “The team did an excellent job from the very beginning today. Elynor was amazing – she’s truly a top rider. Racing with team-mates who are so strong and selfless makes a huge difference. She deserves a special round of applause, and this win is also hers.”
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Gillespie is 24 years of age and starting her second full season as part of a top-ranked team. She is one of the most exciting young talents in the sport, winning five other international events prior to Le Samyn, as well as two national road race championships. She is also world champion on the track in the elimination race.
Gillespie took second on two stages of the UAE Tour Women in February, going very close to beating the peloton’s dominant sprinter Lorena Wiebes on day three. She was also second to Charlotte Kool in the Omloop van het Hageland on Sunday.
Her victory on Monday improves on her Le Samyn performance last year, when she was third.
Gillespie rode her first Tour de France Femmes last summer and took third on a stage. That race is will likely to be her biggest goal of the season and, on the basis of her latest performance, a stage victory seems to be increasingly possible.
The win aside, what is also important is that she got stuck in as part of the day’s key breakaway rather than just relying on her sprint.
“It wasn’t exactly the plan we had this morning, but when that move went we immediately knew it was important to be there,” she said. “We committed to the break and worked hard to make it stick. We managed the race very well and in the finale I was confident in my sprint. I’m really happy with this win, for myself and for the team.”
She is scheduled for some other one-day events in Belgium prior to competing in the women’s Paris-Roubaix on April 12th.
