After a European title on the track and several podium finishes – including one at the Tour de France Femmes – the day has finally come to celebrate the first road victory of the season for Lara Gillespie.
The Irish sprinter of UAE Team ADQ claimed victory today at the third edition of À Travers les Hauts-de-France, raced over a distance of 127.7 kilometers from Péronne to Arleux-en-Gohelle in France. Gillespie launched a strong comeback in the final sprint, overtaking Carys Lloyd (Movistar Team) to take the win, with Eline Jansen (VolkerWessels) finishing third.
It was a rainy day of racing, and in the finale, a reduced group of about thirty riders remained to fight for the victory. At the front, Gillespie was supported by her teammates Hannah Kunz, Francesca Pellegrini, and Sofie van Rooijen, who worked to perfectly position the Irish rider in the final kilometers. From there, Gillespie unleashed her sprinting power in the last few hundred meters to secure a brilliant win.
Lara Gillespie said: “I had a really good feeling today. The energy within the group was super nice and positive. I felt really supported, and we were always in the right position. I made every front echelon, and as a team we worked to make the race hard in the wind. There were a lot of attacks, and we were present in all of them. I felt strong and stayed focused. In the finale, I wanted to enter the last corner further up, but I got a bit boxed in. I managed to avoid the crash and still had plenty of power left for the sprint. I’m very grateful to all my teammates and the staff today and throughout the year. This win means a lot because I’ve had many podiums this season, but I was still missing the victory.”
Francesca Pellegrini received the award for the Intermediate Sprint classification.
(ph. Aymeric Lassak)
