Italian nationwide champion Elisa Longo Borghini (UAE Team ADQ) will likely be one of many primary contenders on the first-ever ladies’s Milan-San Remo, as she seems to take her first victory of 2025 and doubtlessly make historical past.
As one of the skilled riders within the skilled peloton, Longo Borghini has seen the panorama of the ladies’s calendar change dramatically over the past decade, and now will lastly have the prospect to race her house Monument.
“I’m very completely happy that this yr there may also be a Milano-San Remo for us ladies. It was a Monument Classic that was lacking, and it is crucial for your entire motion – one other signal of how a lot ladies’s biking is rising,” the 33-year-old stated forward of the race.
“As an Italian and the Italian champion, it will likely be an honour for me to participate on this race, which has a novel appeal. San Remo is one thing particular, a part of biking historical past, and I believe racing it, tackling these legendary roads, will likely be an unbelievable expertise for all of us.”
Wearing the tricolore jersey, all eyes will likely be on Longo Borghini, however she’s removed from only a symbolic favorite at this race. The punchy end ought to go well with her properly, and after scuffling with sickness at Strade Bianche, she will likely be motivated to bounce again this weekend.
“I imagine it fits my traits fairly properly. But I additionally assume we have now different riders within the group who may carry out very properly on this type of course,” she stated, referring to her teammates like Silvia Persico, Eleonora Gasparrini, and the quickly rising Maëva Squiban.
As it’s the primary version of the ladies’s race, it’s arduous to foretell how the techniques will play out on Saturday. The males’s race was as soon as hailed as a sprinter’s Classic however has typically been received with solo strikes and from small teams in current historical past.
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From the assembled line-ups, it seems like most groups are getting ready for a extra attacking race, with few rosters actually devoted to dash efforts.
World champion Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx-Protime) will make her season debut in the beginning in Genoa, and is sort of assured to attempt to assault over the Tre Capi, most certainly with rivals like Demi Vollering (FDJ-Suez), Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Deceuninck) and the Italian champion on her wheel.
Should a much bigger group survive to the end, Trofeo Alfredo Binda champion Elisa Balsamo (Lidl-Trek) and Marianne Vos (Visma-Lease a Bike) will certainly be favourites, however Longo Borghini will likely be on the lookout for a extra selective race.
The Italian has reconned the 156km route this week, getting ready for an unpredictable race.
“The competitors will likely be robust, and identical to within the males’s race, the finale may play out in many various methods,” she added. “I imagine it will likely be the identical for us.”
As properly as her motivation for the race itself, Longo Borghini underlined how particular it will be for the ladies’s peloton to lastly have its personal Milan-San Remo, after a number of years of guarantees from organisers RCS Sport. s
“We will definitely be honoured to be in the beginning of this Classic, and along with my teammates, we’ll give our greatest to attempt to win – or on the very least, to be protagonists within the race.”