Ireland’s Lara Gillespie produced a superb ride on stage four of the the Tour de France Femmes on Tuesday to earn a historic third-placed finish.
Gillespie (UAE Team ADQ) positioned herself near the front of the peloton in a bunched sprint finish to cross the line in third place behind Lorena Wiebes (Team SD Worx-Protime) and Marianna Vos (Visma Lease a Bike).
It’s a milestone achievement for 24-year-old Wicklow native Gillespie, who is 106th in the general classification.
This is the first Tour de France Femmes to have an an Irish presence, with Gillespie, current national champion Mia Griffin and last year’s title holder Fiona Mangan all present.
Griffin (Roland Le Dévoluy) was 25th in today’s stage and sits 109th overall. Mangan (Winspace Orange Seal) three places further back in 28th today; she’s 97th in the GC.
Wiebes stormed to her second consecutive stage victory thanks to a dominant sprint finish.
The Dutch rider from Team SD Worx launched her move around 250 metres from the line and proved untouchable, sealing another emphatic stage victory ahead of compatriot Vos and Gillespie.
The largely flat 130.7km stage from Saumur to Poitiers saw the peloton remain tightly packed until the closing stretch before a showdown amongst the sprinters.
Wiebes timed her effort perfectly, leaving her rivals unable to respond before it was too late.
She also triumphed in a chaotic sprint on Monday and now sits second overall, trailing Vos, who retains the yellow jersey.
Additional reporting: Reuters