Elisa Longo Borghini has turn into the primary Italian to win the Giro d’Italia Women since Fabiana Luperini final gained the title 16 years in the past in 2008, and added her title to a listing of compatriots to have gained the race that additionally contains Maria Canins, Roberta Bonanomi, and Michela Fanini.
Longo Borghini, the reigning Italian Champion, has competed in 13 editions of the Giro d’Italia Women and completed twice on the rostrum in 2017 and 2020, and says it took a complete group effort to make that step up as the general champion.
“I simply suppose we did one thing magnificent at present as a group. Everyone was actually dedicated to bringing dwelling the maglia rosa. And my teammates have been improbable. They have been simply doing an incredible job on the market,” Longo Borghini mentioned.
Her group on the Giro d’Italia Women included Gaia Realini, who completed third total final 12 months, Lucinda Brand, Lizzie Deignan, Brodie Chapman, Lauretta Hanson and Elisa Balsamo. She additionally thanked her associate Jacopo Mosca for his assist.
“This win is for my teammates, for the Lidl-Trek group, your entire group, the employees, everybody that’s working night time and day for us. And then for my husband, as a result of he’s all the time believing in me,” Longo Borghini mentioned.
Longo Borghini held the maglia rosa since profitable the stage 1 time trial in Brescia, carrying the race lead by way of Volta Mantovana, Toano, Urbino, Foligno, Chieti and to the highest of the long-lasting Blockhaus, in what was a dramatic race for time bonuses on the penultimate queen stage 7 in opposition to runner-up Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx-Protime).
Heading into the ultimate stage 8, Longo Borghini held only one second forward of Kopecky within the total classification, and lots of questioned whether or not she might maintain off the World Champion on the final day of racing into L’Aquila, the place time bonuses have been on supply on the end line.
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“They have been saying that Kopecky would out-sprint me, however I used to be like, we now have a one % likelihood, we now have one second to win, and everybody within the group was tremendous motivated to maintain the maglia rosa and to maintain the management,” Longo Borghini mentioned.
“I like the joys. I just like the adrenaline when it’s about one second. I wish to have that head-to-head struggle and to race till the top. When I see the end line, I simply see pink like a bull, and I simply need to go straight to it. I used to be nervous at present, in an excellent manner, and I used to be like, I’m going to crack you [Kopecky] it doesn’t matter what.
“I simply wished to cross the road with the maglia rosa to point out that I used to be the strongest and that Lidl-Trek is the strongest group. We wished to make the race laborious, to eradicate among the SD-Worx riders, and we did.”
Lidl-Trek and Longo Borghini executed their racing plan to perfection. With a breakaway up the street, Kim Le Court (AG Insurance-Soudal) took the stage win forward of Ruth Edwards (Human Powered Health) and Franzi Koch (DSM-Firmenich PostNL).
Longo Borghini then accelerated and sprinted out of the sphere within the final kilometre to assert fourth place on the day and win the general title by 21 seconds forward of Kopecky, whereas Neve Bradbury (Canyon-SRAM) completed third total at 1:16 again.
The Giro d’Italia Women’s race victory caps off what has already been a profitable profession for Longo Borghini, who has gained Tour of Flanders and Trofeo Alfredo Binda twice, Strade Bianche, Paris-Roubaix and total titles at Women’s Tour and the UAE Tour.