Lara Gillespie, left, and Zoe Backstedt during Omloop Het Nieuwsblad on Saturday, when the Irish rider crashed just before things got serious on the Muur van Geraardsbergen (Photo by Luc Claessen-Getty Images)
Lara Gillespie’s opening race of the season was a stressful affair, with the Irish rider crashing during Saturday’s Omloop Het Nieuwsblad as the race was about to hit the crucial Muur van Geraardsbergen.
She was riding for team leader Karlijn Swinkels – who was eventually 6th – when both came down in a group crash in the bunch. The video below shows the first rider appeared to fall into the bunch on the wet road.
The speed, and narrow roads, meant the riders immediately behind had nowhere to go and they came down. Swinkels managed to recover and get back to the front again, though others were not so lucky.
Though Gillespie does not appear to have suffered serious injury – she was 2nd at Omloop van het Hageland (1.1) just 24 hours later – she abandoned Saturday’s race.
Former world champion, Lotte Kopecky (Team SD Worx-Protime), was also caught up in the incident. She did not come down but her rear mech was damaged, ensuring she lost time and drifted out of contention.
Gillespie is in action again today, Monday, for the third day straight, at Le Samyn des Dames (1.1), where she placed 3rd last year.