Gillespie and Sharpe Shine in Madison
Credit: SW Pix
Alice Sharpe and Lara Gillespie put in another strong performance at the Saint Quentin-en-Yvelines velodrome this afternoon. The pair joined forces for the Women’s Madison event which saw 15 teams complete 120 laps, totalling 30km.
With points on offers for sprints every 10 laps, and an impressive 20 points on offer for a lap gain, the Madison got off to a fast and furious start.
New Zealand, Great Britain, Italy and France had a strong start. Unfortunately for Canada they were out of the race just before the race reached the halfway point
The Netherlands were the first team to make a lap gain, winning a sprint in the process, taking the lead with 47 laps to go.
Italy were the next to attack, also getting a lap gain and a sprint, putting them in pole position. Ireland got their first points of the race in the third last sprint, winning 3 points.
With double points on the last sprint it was still all to play for.
A French attack with 14 laps to go proved unsuccessful with all riders in one group going into the penultimate sprint. A late attack from Denmark added to the excitement.
Victory went to Italy on 37 points, Great Britain were second and The Netherlands completed the podium.
Speaking afterwards, Gillespie said:
“It was really full on from the start. We didn’t panic but we did use a lot of energy I think getting into positioning at the start but then we held our own and calmed down and did score a few points at the end, in the last 20 laps the effort really started to kick in.
“A little bit disappointed with that but it is an Olympic final at the end of the day and 11th place is pretty savage. It took a lot to even qualify and get to the Games so we can be proud of the effort and look forward to the next time.”
Sharpe added:
“Yeah, there’s always a strategy involved with the Madison but, because the race is so chaotic and there’s so many teams doing different things you kind of have to have a strategy but need to adapt and overcome during the race. Yes, it went to plan but I think we would have liked to score a few more points but, as she said, it’s an Olympic final and I don’t think we can be too disappointed.”
Lara Gillespie will represent Team Ireland in the Omnium on Sunday morning.