ZURICH (Switzerland) – It's been raining nonstop since morning. The dirty streets have reduced bicycles to a pile of pipes and mud; the girls riding them through the mixed zone have black faces and trembling lips. Today Switzerland showed a taste of its toughness and that's why only 81 of the athletes who started showed up at the finish line.Paolo Sangalli arrives after speaking to the television microphones, looking satisfied, like someone who has just gotten up from the table and leaves with a good taste in their mouth. Probably not the best, but a nice memory nonetheless. Elisa Longo Borghini's bronze medal gave meaning to all the hard work.
«We had gold in mind – he says – but that's how it went. We brought home a medal and let's remember that Elisa beat in sprint someone like Lippert who is fastAfter a certain mileage, sprinters suffer, while Elisa has a great engine. Kopecky won, but Elisa outdistanced her. She couldn't go straight on alone, clearly. Today Vollering He wasn't performing well, and we noticed this in the car, as did Kopecky. But he's a classy rider..."
A worm to be chased away
It was necessary to rebalance the disappointment of Paris. Making peace with the role of team leader, as Elisa had also confided to us in a video filmed in the Azzurri hotel on Tuesday evening, on the eve of the Team Relay in which they also won bronze. We had to continue the wonderful streak of this 2024 which brought the Flanders and Tour of Italy to a 32-year-old athlete, who only now seems to have fully understood her potential.
«We both had this woodworm from the Olympics for a bad day – says Sangalli again – otherwise the Olympics would have ended this way. Today Elisa demonstrated all her worth under a universal deluge and until the end she showed that she could winClearly, they wouldn't let someone like her go, but all it would have taken was a quick glance at each other and she would have kept going. We had identified that gap to attack on the last lap and we almost pulled it off. But that's okay, a medal of absolute value in a truly high level of women's cycling. While the other girls paid for this time. They are climbers and were cold, but I have to thank the Federation for the resources it gave us. Gabba R It was truly fantastic. Elisa took it off before the last tear, and it helped keep her warm and dry all the way through."
A still long career
These 32 years, which seem not to be a limitation but rather a great added value, also come back in Paolo Slongo's reasoning. From next year, the Treviso coach will follow Elisa Longo Borghini in a new professional adventure And he had long imagined that today could be a good day. One might say he had planned it, but at such a high level of sport that would sound like a brazen statement.
«I knew he was in good condition – he says Long in front of the Italy bus – and who had prepared well for the World Cup. Unfortunately, due to a health problem, she had to skip the Romandie race, which would have perhaps given her three more days of racing. But we still arrived in good shape. I think Elisa ran very well. She wasn't overly generous, as usual, so credit should be given to her for a perfect run. He tried at the right time, it's a shame that Vollering gave everything to take it and then get here without even getting a medalThis is cycling. I thought a podium finish was possible, especially on a course like this and racing in the rain. I think that from this year she is a new Elisa and that she can stay at this level for many more years.. Then, if you look at it, women's careers are longer than men's, so I hope and I'm sure that it will be competitive in the future too."
