Lara Gillespie went close to a stage win in the Giro d’Italia Women on Sunday, finishing second on stage two into Caorle and remaining a superb second overall.The result is one of her best showings since turning pro and confirms her as one of the sport’s top sprinters.The gallop to the line ended up being a head-to-head against race leader Elisa Balsamo, with the Italian winning out on this occasion.“Once again, my team-mates [at UAE Team ADQ] did an incredible job throughout the entire day,” Gillespie said. “In the finale, Elisa [Longo Borghini], Silvia [Persico] and Eleonora [Gasparrini] were absolutely brilliant and I’m disappointed that I couldn’t reward all their hard work with a victory.“To be honest, I really suffered in the heat today and had to dig deep just to stay in contention. At the same time, I’m very proud of how the team performed and of being able to fight for the win once again in the sprint.”It was the second runner-up slot in a row for Gillespie. The Enniskerry rider actually crossed the line third on Saturday’s opening stage but was bumped up to second when the winner Lorena Wiebes was disqualified.Cycling’s governing body the UCI deemed that her bike was 20 grams under the 6.8kg weight limit, something the team has disputed and said it will fight legally.Gilliespie started Sunday’s stage second overall, four seconds back. The time bonuses for Sunday’s stage see her remain second, but her gap to the pink jersey is now eight seconds.She should have other opportunities in the days ahead. Monday’s stage to Buja and Friday’s race to Brescello will be likely bunch finishes.Gillespie is building towards this year’s Tour de France Femmes, where she hopes to take a stage win. She was third on stage four last year, her first time competing in the sport’s top event.Continuing to ride strongly in the Giro will do wonders for her confidence and morale, and even more so if she can land a stage win.Meanwhile, Adam Rafferty finished a superb second overall in the Peace Race, one of the most prestigious races for under-23 riders. The Hagens Berman Jayco rider was second on Saturday’s mountain stage to the summit finish at Dlouhé Stráně and was second again on Sunday’s final stage to Šternberk.He ended the four-day race 10 seconds behind the Belgian rider Kamiel Eeman.Rafferty’s fellow Irishman and team-mate David Gaffney was 11th on Sunday’s stage and 17th overall. He was third in the best young rider competition.