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The UEC European Track Championships took place in Zolder, Belgium from February 12th to 16th. A team of six riders was selected to represent Ireland, including the well-established Erin Creighton, Mia Griffin and Lara Gillespie, alongside newer additions in Aoife O’Brien, Esther Wong and Ireland debutant Emma Jeffers.

The highlight of the competition for the Irish contingent came on Day 2 of competition, as Lara Gillespie claimed Ireland’s first ever Elite European Championship in the Elimination Race.

The race was a stop-start affair early on, as two crashes involving five riders caused damage to the track. Gillespie remained unphased by the stoppages, and remained near the front of the pack for each sprint elimination.

Gillespie was joined in the final three by Dutch rider Lisa van Belle and Belgian Helene Hesters. Once it came down to a straight sprint between Gillespie and Hesters, Gillespie made a break and pulled out a long lead to take the win.

Although a former U23 European Champion, the win is Gillespie’s first major senior title on the track, and comes off the back of a World Championships Bronze medal in 2024.

The Team Pursuit squad, featuring O’Brien, Creighton, Wong and Jeffers was in action on day one, and qualified for the semi-finals with relative ease. The Irish squad found themselves on track with a strong French team in the semi-final stage on Day 2, and were narrowly beaten, and finished 8th overall.

Mia Griffin was next on track in the Scratch race. Griffin came into the competition off the back off a strong showing in the UAE Tour on the road, and was looking to continue her strong start to 2025 onto the track in Belgium. Griffin managed to get herself a 7th place finish in a very strong field.

Gillespie was back on track on Day 3 for the Omnium. The four-race event got underway with the Scratch race, in which Gillespie took a 6th place finish. The Tempo that afternoon saw the Irish representative take 8th place, leaving her sitting comfortably inside the top-10 in overall standings. The Elimination race saw Gillespie take a hard earned 6th, meaning she was still in the fight for a medal going into the final race of the day. She managed to claim a 5th place in the Points race to finish the event out, leaving her in 5th overall.

Saturday morning saw Erin Creighton and Emma Jeffers both compete in the first ever Women’s 1km Time Trial. Creighton narrowly missed out on qualifying for the final, finishing the qualifying round just 3 seconds off the time that would ultimately see Hetty van de Wouw win the event. Jeffers also bowed out of the competition at the qualifying round, finishing 16th overall.

Lara Gillespie was on track again on the Saturday evening in the Points race. A strong performance saw Gillespie stick near the front as she battled for points. She sat with three other riders on equal points in second place coming into the final sprint, but she narrowly missed out on medal after the mass sprint, finishing fourth overall.

Gillespie joined Mia Griffin on track on the final day of competition for the Madison. The pair have competed together in this event on several occasions, and their experience together was evident in grabbing themselves a fifth place overall.

A full list results for all events are available HERE.