Irish rider Lara Gillespie had a fine start to her Giro d’Italia Women campaign on Saturday, sprinting to an excellent third place on stage one and later being declared the runner-up.The Enniskerry rider crossed the line in Ravenna behind Lorena Wiebes and Elisa Balsamo, securing her second podium in a grand tour stage race after her third place on stage four of last year’s Tour de France Femmes.Sensationally, Wiebes has now been disqualified from the race, being stripped of both the stage win and her race leader’s pink jersey.“Lorena Wiebes was expelled from the Giro d’Italia Women following a breach of article 2.12.007 – 2.2: use of a bicycle not in compliance with the regulations, specifically failing to meet the minimum weight requirements,” stated race organisers RCS Sport on Saturday evening.“Therefore, the victory in the opening stage is awarded to Elisa Balsamo, who will start tomorrow in the Maglia Rosa.”Cycling’s governing body requires that all bicycles weigh at least 6.8 kilos. Gillespie gave her reaction before the news came through of Wiebes’s disqualification.“Of course, I was hoping to win, but I’m still very happy with this podium because my team-mates did an incredible job all day long,” she said prior to being upgraded to runner-up.“The final was very similar to a criterium, with constant positioning battles and a lot of intensity. The team did a fantastic job of keeping me near the front and out of trouble.”Gillespie is competing with the UAE Team ADQ team and has this year already notched up several big results. She won the Beobank Samyn Ladies race in March and was also second on the Fenix-Ekoï Omloop van het Hageland, plus on two stages of the UAE Tour Women.She will start Sunday’s second stage four seconds behind Balsamo, and with another sprint finish likely, has an opportunity to take the first grand tour stage win of her career and, with it, the race lead.