|
Four Irish riders took on the five-round series. Lara Gillespie, Mia Griffin, Erin Creighton and Lucy Bénézet Minns all took part in the Endurance league.
Round 1 took place a setting familiar to three of the four Irish representatives. Having made the trip to Paris for the 2024 Olympics, the riders made their return to the Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines velodrome on Saturday the 23rd of November.
The Irish contingent hit the ground running on the first day of competition, with Mia Griffin bagging a third place in the Scratch, and Lara Gillespie taking eighth in the opening race. Strong performances from Erin Crieghton and Lucy Bénézet Minns in their debut race in the series taking 11th and 15th respectively.
The quartet followed their strong performance in the first race of the competition with another solid showing in the Elimination race later that evening. The eventual series overall winner, Great Britain’s Kate Archibald took the overall win, with Lara Gillespie finishing best of the Irish in fourth. Mia Griffin and Erin Creighton both bagged more points finishing in 13th and 15th respectively, while Lucy Bénézet Minns came in 17th.
Riders headed to Apeldoorn for Rounds 2 and 3. Round 2 took place on 29th of November, with Round 3 following on 30th of November.
Griffin continued her strong form in the Scratch with another third-place finish behind Archibald and Canada’s Sarah Van Dam. Creighton pulled in more valuable points with a 7th place finish, as Gillespie came in 11th with Bénézet Minns following in 17th.
Lara Gillespie put in another very strong performance in the Elimination race that saw her take yet another third-place finish. Griffin scored more points with a 14th place finish, as Bénézet Minns and Creighton took 17th and 18th respectively.
Riders remained in the Omnisport Apeldoorn for Round 3 on Saturday the 30th of November. The scratch event saw another immense performance from Lara Gillespie and Mia Griffin, as Gillespie narrowly missed out on a win to Czech rider Petra Sevcikova finishing second, with Griffin getting another top 10 finishing eighth. In a race that saw several of the favourites drop points, Bénézet Minns and Creighton took 16th and 17th.
Griffin was top Irish finisher in the Elimination later that evening with an 11th place, as Gillespie took 13th and Bénézet Minns and Creighton replicated their earlier finish in 16th and 17th respectively.
Round 4 took place at the Lee Valley Velopark in London on Friday, 6th of December. In what was as close to a home race as the Irish riders would get, a big Irish support was present and vocal.
Griffin took another top 10 in the opening Scratch race, finishing ninth. Gillespie also took a point finishing 15th, with Bénézet Minns and Creighton taking 16th and 16th respectively.
Having won the Elimination race in London in the 2023 series, Lara Gillespie was marked as one to watch, and she delivered another win. Finishing ahead Sarah Van Dam left her just outside of an overall podium spot, knowing that beating the Canadian in the final round could secure that podium on the final day. Creighton notched more points finishing 14th, with Bénézet Minns taking 16th and Mia Griffin finishing 18th.
The series finale in London saw Gillespie remain in the chase for an overall podium place. A very strong showing in the Scratch race and capitalising on a rare slip up from nearest rival Sarah Van Dam, Gillespie bagged herself third place in the race and jumped into third in the overall standings. Mia Griffin continued her consistent point scoring run with a 12th place finish, followed by Erin Creighton in 15th and Lucy Bénézet Minns in 16th.
Gillespie got the business done in the final race of the series, taking another third-place finish in the Elimination and solidifying her third place overall in the standings. Mia Griffin’s 12th place in the final race was enough to ensure she remained in the top 10 in the overall standings. Lucy Bénézet Minns and Erin Creighton took 17th and 18th place in the final race. Their results meant a 17th and 18th place overall finish for Creighton and Bénézet Minns respectively.
A massive congratulations to all four Irish representatives putting in another strong performance.
Win at Track Champions League in London for Gillespie
Lara Gillespie has claimed another win in the Elimination race at the Track Champions League in London
Lara Gillespie
|
A very tense race saw Gillespie come up against Canadian Sarah Van Dam in a sprint right to the line, with the Wicklow woman taking the win.
This is the second year in a row she has taken the win in this event in London, after wining in the final round of the 2023 series.
This win in the penultimate round of the competition sees Gillespie sitting fourth overall with a great chance of claiming an overall podium at the final round tomorrow evening. Round 5 will also take place at the Lee Valley Velopark in London.
Irish rider Mia Griffin also sits inside the top 10 of the overall standings and will be hoping to round out the competition with another strong performance tomorrow.
Irish youngsters Lucy Bénézet Minns and Erin Creighton will also look to finish their debut appearances in the competition on a high note, in what has been a very strong showing for the Irish quartet.
----
Racing will get underway in London at 5.30pm tomorrow, Saturday, 7th of December and will be live on Eurosport and Discovery+
UCI Track Champions League Preview
UCI Track Cycling Champions League action gets underway this weekend, as riders head to Paris for Round 1 on Saturday, 23rd of November.
The five round series will see Rounds 2 and 3 take place in Apeldoorn on November 29th and 30th, with the final two rounds taking place in London on December 6th and 7th.
This year will see four Irish riders take part, competing against some of the world’s best.
Paris 2024 Olympians Lara Gillespie, Mia Griffin and Erin Creighton will return to Vélodrome National De Saint-Quentin-En-Yvelines, joined by Lucy Bénézet Minns.
Gillespie is no stranger to the Track Champions League. Having made her debut in 2023, she bagged herself top 5 finishes in Rounds 2, 3 and 4 and a win in the final round in London. She finished 4th in the overall standings. Last year’s strong performance, coupled with a UCI Track World Championship bronze medal and solid Olympic performance mean Gillespie is one to watch this year.
Griffin also comes into the event off the back of a very strong Olympic campaign, competing in the Team Pursuit. Griffin was also partnered with Gillespie at the Track World Championships in the Madison event, in which the pair finished 7th. Griffin also took the General Classification win in the Rás na mBan on Irish roads earlier this year.
Creighton joined the Olympic Team Pursuit squad as reserve rider, and having missed out on the World Championships due to illness she’ll be looking to finish her year off on a high note.
Bénézet Minns recently made the step up to the senior ranks for the Track World Championships where she took 16th place in the Individual Pursuit. Earlier this year she took top spot in the Points Race at the Junior Track European Championships in Germany.
The competition is divided into two categories: Endurance and Sprint. The Endurance events consist of an elimination race and a scratch race, with sprint events featuring keirin and the individual sprint.
Points are awarded based on results in each round and go towards the overall series standings.
All four Irish riders will compete in the Endurance category for this series.
All rounds of this year’s series will be available to watch on EuroSport and Discovery+.