Lara Gillespie
Cycling
BIOGRAPHY
Lara Gillespie is one of the leading cyclists of her generation and was part of the first Irish Women’s Team Pursuit team to complete at the Olympics Games (Paris 2024). At the same Games, she and team mate Alice Sharpe finished 11th in the Women’s Madison, while Gillespie also claimed 10th place in the Omnium race.
Later in 2024, Gillespie claimed a fantastic bronze medal in the Points Race at the Track World Championships while in early 2025 she became European Champion in the Elimination event at the UEC European Track Championships.
Lara started out with Orwell Wheelers and was a winner of multiple continental junior track medals, including European Junior Points champion in 2018, and a Youth Olympics Time Trial silver (2017). She was also the first Irish woman to win a medal (Pursuit bronze) at World Juniors (2019). In 2023 she won two European U23 track titles (Omnium and Points), and, in her first season in the UCI Track Champions League, won the Elimination race in the final round finishing fourth overall. She was just pipped for bronze in the Omnium at the senior Europeans, and won an Omnium bronze at the Ghent International at the start of July.
She has a degree in Health and Performance Science from UCD where she was an Ad Astra scholarship recipient. Lara rides for UAE Team ADQ.
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