Inching Closer: Lara Gillespie Is All in to Beat Lorena Wiebes

The off season offers a long time to mull over things but Lara Gillespie can take a lot of encouragement from what was her last big sprint against Lorena Wiebes this year.

Wiebes, the undisputed queen of sprinting, led out the finale of the scratch race at the track world championships in Shanghai, China. Gillespie tracked her closely and bided her time before unleashing a huge surge on the finishing straight.

The Irishwoman had all the momentum on her side but ran out of track before the line, finishing a couple of centimeters back.

Silver wasn’t the medal she was looking for, but it was the closest indication yet that maybe, just maybe, she is poised to start beating her Dutch rival in 2027.

“I was actually really pleased with my scratch race in general because normally I don’t like the event,” Gillespie told Velo in Dublin airport, shortly after her long flight back from China.

“I wouldn’t say I’m a good scratch race rider. I just was really brave and was really focused. I know I have good legs at the moment and am in good shape, so I just used them and played it smart.

“But then in the end, I actually played it a bit too smart, and missed an opportunity to win.”

Gillespie has been trying repeatedly in recent years to beat Wiebes. However the latter is an utterly formidable rival, having dominated women’s sprinting for several seasons. She has clocked up a staggering 142 road victories.

The duo have gone head to head in multiple sprints on the road: Gillespie is yet to beat her, and has taken second to her no less than eight times since September 2025.

There is however a sense that she is inching closer. The track worlds is one example, and so too the finale of stage three of the UAE Tour Women, as well as stages two and three of the Tour of Chongming Island last month.

More work still needs to be done but the Irishwoman is narrowing the gap. Being two years younger is also encouraging: at some point Wiebes will start to slow with age.

But Gillespie and her UAE Team l’Imad are not going to wait around for that. They want to win sooner rather than later, and have a clear plan to keep getting faster.

‘This year was the best so far’

Dario Giovine is Lara Gillespie’s coach, having taken over since she moved up from UAE’s development team to the WorldTour squad in late 2024.

He recognizes her as a very talented athlete—something shown by her 11 career wins on the road, as well as two track world championship wins as an elite rider—but also sees her as a work in progress.

“Of course, we can all see Lara progressing a lot every year since the devo [development team] times,” he told Velo. “We discovered that Lara has a lot of room for improvement in a lot of things, and we are working on it.”

He and the team want her to get faster, but also to get stronger.

Balancing the two is not as straightforward as might be presumed.

“Basically, we are keeping her super-fast characteristics safe while trying to add some volume to make sure that she can face the new demands of races in women’s cycling,” he explained.

“Nowadays it’s pretty obvious that women’s cycling is changing fast. We are facing some race demands that are different compared to two or three years ago, totally different. So we are working a lot on durability with her.”

Durability is indeed all the rage at the moment: the pace in races is faster and faster from earlier on, meaning riders are exposed to far more continuous fatigue than was the case a decade or two ago.

It’s not just about being the strongest or the fastest in the finale. Instead, many wins now are down to who can retain the most energy over the course of a whole race.

Tadej Pogačar is a key example of that in the men’s peloton: Demi Vollering is similarly successful in the women’s bunch.

Both are a certain type of rider. Things get a little more complicated for competitors such as Gillespie.

“Of course, we know that working with sprinters is different than working with a classics rider or a climber,” Giovine explains. “That is because you cannot push that much with intensity in the endurance, in order to not lose fast twitch muscles and fibers.

“It’s always a balance in between trying to be more an endurance athlete to also reach a finish in a Classic race, while trying to not lose Lara’s main strength. That is, being a super-fast rider with a super explosive three to five first pedal strokes.”

Thus far he believes things are on track in that balancing act.

“I think we are doing well, actually,” he laughs. “This year was the best season so far for Lara. And of course, we are aiming to reach more wins, even though she won a lot more than the previous years.”

‘I should have gone earlier, been a bit more bold’

Gillespie is still just 25 years of age. She’s only been a WorldTour pro for two years.

The Irishwoman from Enniskerry, Co. Wicklow, has always been a clear talent—you don’t take European track titles as a junior and under 23 without ability—but is now finding her feet more and more within the WorldTour peloton.

In addition to doubling up at the Irish championships in the road race and time trial this year, she also won the 1.1-ranked Beobank Samyn Ladies and the Argenta Classic-Deurne, and collected nine second places.

But aside from those results, placing eighth in a race as tough as Paris-Roubaix Femmes says a lot about how her engine is growing.

She’s doing a lot of hard work but is also making sure to keep mentally fresh. That means switching off at times, something she does by spending time in the Irish countryside.

“Lara is a great person,” Giovine says. “She is in love with Ireland more than anything, and with nature. Sometimes I know that maybe the best training for her is an off day. But I know it won’t be an off day, because she will be all day long in nature and soaking up that energy.

“I love her style of living.”

That time off needs to be carefully worked out as Gillespie is not just a road rider. She’s been part of the Irish track team for many years, taking world and European titles, and was its most successful competitor at the recent worlds in Shanghai.

Taking second by such a close margin to Wiebes in the scratch race was encouraging, not least because she was using the race primarily as a leg opener for the Omnium and the points race.

“The priority is Omnium for Olympic points, and then in the points race I was hoping for a medal,” Gillespie told Velo.

In that light, finishing so close to Wiebes in the scratch event was a welcome surprise.

Still, even if that result was a bonus, she thinks about what might have been.

“I should have gone earlier, been a bit more bold with it,” she told Velo. “I should have trusted myself a bit more because actually I came off the track and felt I hadn’t gone maximally.

“That’s like the worst feeling, coming off a race when you’re not actually [drained]… It’s fine when you try everything and then you come second.

“But if you feel like you have left something [in the tank], then [it’s harder].

“That feeling creates more drive and more motivation to not do that again.”

Given the near miss, taking gold in the points race four days later was something to be savored. Interestingly, though, she wasn’t as elated as when she won the elimination race last year.

That change in reaction is perhaps a reflection of her increased personal expectations.

“It was just satisfying. Nothing too crazy. Just nice,” she said.

“I did it and I had a plan, and I was really in the moment during the race. It felt like it went by super fast. So yeah, nothing too big. I think that’s because I know I’m strong and I know that I can win. I’m obviously really happy, but I envisioned it.

“I kind of knew that I had the legs to do that.”

‘Nobody is unbeatable’

Winning again on the track at world level will whet Gillespie’s appetite for more. She’s got a taste for victories and wants to make that kind of achievement a more regular occurrence on the road. She’s heading into her third full season as a WorldTour rider and stepping up another notch is a priority.

Giovine, and UAE Team l’Imad, have a plan for that.

Becoming stronger is one element. Giovine believes that she can make further gains in this area and, in the future, ride ‘really well’ in Paris-Roubaix. So too in events such as Gent-Wevelgem.

But it’s clear that her speed is her biggest asset, and is something they are focusing on.

“Sprinting is for sure multifactorial thing, more than we can think from the outside,” he said. “There’s a huge part, the mental part, and there’s a big part in studying the sprinting of Lara and the others.”

Her leadout is also an important area.

“Of course a fundamental part is the team that is surrounding Lara. We are working on it,” Giovine said.

“I would say we are working on different aspects to try to be the best sprinter in the world. Of course it’s not easy. Everybody [in the whole sport – ed.] is working, but from our side, for sure, the goal is trying to beat Wiebes and so sometimes being the best sprinter in the world.

“I think nobody’s unbeatable.”

Giovine said more than once during the interview that the team doesn’t want to focus on any one particular rival. Still, in aiming to be the best, they have to beat the best.

“We have a huge respect for Lorena for what she did for cycling, what she’s doing,” he said. “But of course we want to win, no matter who is in the front.

“We recognize Wiebes is a huge, huge, classy rider. Because of course she’s talented. She is a pure beast, and she showed that she’s the strongest sprinter ever, for sure.

“So it’s already a big thing to be almost there.

“We are trying to work toward this, but without obsession. We are focusing on ourselves 100%.”

Gillespie has similar respect for her big rival. She’s got close several times this year, but there have also been moments where Wiebes finished several bike lengths clear.

But going so close at the worlds may have marked a change, a narrowing of the gap between them.

It’s also given Gillespie increased self-belief.

Asked if she feels she is on the verge of being able to beat her, her answer was clear.

“Yeah, definitely… She’s a sprinting great and cycling great at the moment, and has been super dominant for the last few years.

“I’ve been patient in that, now I’m getting less patient. I hope that it will come soon. I think it will.

“It’s about the delivery. It’s about the team also. It really makes a big difference. And the execution and just being brave with it.”

If she does it and indeed betters her rival, taking that first win against her, is there a sense that might open up the floodgates and be followed by more?

“I hope so. I hope so,” she answered.