Lara Gillespie, right, won the world title late last year but has not yet raced in the iconic rainbow bands, though that’s about to change (Photo: FacePeeters)
Lara Gillespie still has plenty of road racing to come in the spring campaign with UAE Team ADQ, but the Wicklow woman is now also preparing to debut the world champion’s rainbow stripes she won at the World Track Championships in Chile last October.
She will be getting back into action with the Irish track team in the Far East in the weeks ahead. Team Ireland is now shaping up for the crucial Olympic qualification campaign, with a very youthful team pursuit line-up for the next events, which is missing the four riders that raced at the Paris Olympics.
Though Gillespie was one of those four riders – along with Mia Griffin, Alice Sharpe and Kelly Murphy – she is set to race in the individual events on her return to the track, in the UCI World Cup. Ans an all-U23 selection is named for the team pursuit.
The Irish team now has two World Cups in its sights – in Hong Kong and Malaysia – from April 17th to 19th and April 24th to 26th respectively.
At the Hong Kong Velodrome, Aoife O’Brien, Emma Jeffers, Esther Wong and Erin Creighton with represent Ireland in the team pursuit.
Their selection continues the process of Cycling Ireland’s high performance staff trying to develop a group of riders that can, hopefully, help qualify for the Los Angeles Olympics and race in those 2028 Games.
In Hong Kong, Jeffers and Creighton will also team up for the madison. Jeffers, who is going to be busy, also takes on the elimination race, while O’Brien will ride the omnium.
The composition of the Irish team then changes for the World Cup in Malaysia, with no team pursuit event for Ireland. Gillespie is part of that team and will line out in the elimination race.
In that event she will be wearing her world champion’s jersey for the first time in competition. She will also ride the omnium.
O’Brien and Creighton will represent Ireland in the madison while Matti Dobbins competes in the elimination race and in the omnium, having ridden impressively at the Europeans earlier this year.
Gillespie missed those Europeans, due to her trade team commitments, and so did not defend the European title she won the elimination race last year.