Shara Gillow cycles onto Gracia Olova World Cup podium for High 5 Aussie team

AUSTRALIAN Shara Gillow has fended off a strong challenge from a defending champion to secure second place overall in the Gracia Orlova World Cup women’s tour.

Shara Gillow has finished second in a major race in Europe.

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AUSTRALIAN Shara Gillow has fended off a strong challenge from a defending champion to secure second place overall in the Gracia Orlova World Cup women’s tour.

Riding with the High 5 GoExPro Australian Women’s Road Development Team, Gillow and her teammates worked overtime to keep defending champion Alena Amialiusik (CANYON//SRAM) at bay in the 30th edition of the tour in the Czech Republic.

Gillow, pushing for selection on the road at the Rio Olympics, started the stage one second ahead of Amialiusik overall but the pair were level-pegging midway through the final stage.

“Amialiusik got third in the first bonus sprint, so she and Shara were on equal time,” said sport director Donna Rae-Szalinski.

“A few laps into the circuit race, a break got away. It didn’t contain any threats to the overall, and we were happy to have it up the road because it meant the break would pick up all the bonus seconds, which neutralised things for us with Shara and Alena.”

Gillow attacked near the end of the stage to beat Amialiusik across the line for second place overall.

“The team really progressed this week,” Rae-Szalinski said.

Shara Gillow shows her climbing ability at a recent Australian titles.

“The mantra this week was patience, and the girls learned that if they were patient, they were better able to do their jobs and would get to the end of the race with much more energy compared to when they did work early just because they were so happy to be at the front of the bunch, and they felt like they should do something because they were there.

“It was great to have Shara with us this week.

“She tutored the girls so well. Her leadership was greatly appreciated. Her manner with the girls, the feed back she shared — we really enjoyed the experience and were happy that we could support her endeavours in return.”

The next outing for the High 5 GoExPro Australian Women’s Road Development Team is the Omloop Aalburg in The Netherlands on Saturday and then the GP Maarten Wynants in Belgium on Sunday.

Originally published as Shara Gillow cycles onto Gracia Olova World Cup podium for High 5 Aussie team