BORGO VAL DI TARO – «It's a… Lidl emotion this victory». It's the same Elisa Longo Borghini, playing with the name of his team's new sponsor, to give the incipit to talk about his successAnd the Italian champion has good reason to be so, because she's now really enjoying winning short sprints.
In the fourth stage, the longest of the Giro Donne, The jokes of the day are the former footballer Ewers (the first to light the fuse and already twice second behind Longo at Emilia and Tre Valli 2022) and the pink jersey Van Vleuten, who leads the general classification over her two rivals. At 40” closes the bulk of the group regulated by Wiebes, almost remaining faithful to his declarations of the eve for the partial success.
Elisa is there
Apart from two team time trials won, the one in Val Taro for Longo Borghini is the second personal success in the Giro DonneThe other was in Puglia on the penultimate stage of the 2020 edition, ahead of Van der Breggen. We can consider Elisa a substantial part of that rest of the world that always fights against the Dutch. which we were referring to yesterday.
«For today – explains Longo Borghini while still smiling at the funny initial joke – I thank my teammates, our staff and send my regards to Luca Guercilena, our general manager, who is at home. This success is particularly heartening because it's her first in the Italian flag with the team's new logo. It was a bit of a strange day. We hadn't planned anything, we just had to save our energy for tomorrow's stage and the ones after.. Instead, you all saw how it ended."
Eyes open
When Ewers set off as a group after the Bardi mountain grand prix, they waited to see how the situation would evolve. SD Worx and Jumbo-Visma wanted to keep the escapee within range of Wiebes and Vos (who then finished fourth and fifth respectively). But when The American from EF Education Tibco SVB had more than a minute of advantage and was the virtual pink jersey, the scenarios have changed. And now the race has taken a different turn.
"It was clear," continued Longo Borghini, who also wears the special blue jersey as the best Italian in the standings, "that Annemiek (Van Vleuten, ed.) wouldn't hand over the lead to Ewers. Consequently, I expected an attack on the final mountain pass, and that's what she did. I watched his movements, I saw that he put his team in front (Movistar, ed.) and I got behind his wheel. And I followed her.
«In the Marradi stage – he continues – I didn't have a great day but I didn't pay too high a price like in Cesena last year. The Giro is extremely open. Tomorrow is the big stage, another day of the Giro Donne. We at Lidl-Trek have a good chance. Gaia (Realini, ed.) She's a great climber and I'll always keep my eyes open, seeing how it goes day by day.The Passo del Lupo is far from the finish line, but it can certainly change the course of the race. It has been seen over the years that there is no fear of attacking from afar. In any case, honestly, we'll think about this queen stage tomorrow morning."
Work on the sides
Although three stages were run (the initial time trial was cancelled), the impression is that Longo Borghini is increasingly taking measures Van Vleuten (and consequently, the rest of the rivals) to strike a decisive blow on both climbs and descents. Any moment could be the right one. Like a boxer who works his opponent's flanks and try to knock him out before the fifteenth round.
«The Canelli stage – he concludes – is not to be underestimated but The Liguria stage is very tough. The overall standings will be definitively decided there.I don't think anything will change in the last two stages in Sardinia. Everything will be done sooner."
