Elisa Longo Borghini confirms the top step of the podium at Giro d'Italia Women's cycling, after the 2024 victory. Grit and strength, but a different team and a different bike, with a series of (non-trivial) changes also regarding the components.
We asked our Italian champion to tell her story Colnago V5Rs, some gems adopted during the Giro d'Italia and whether they "suffered" from the change in technical equipment. It's interesting to note, as is also the case with the men's team, that today's athletes rarely change their choices during the season: any variations are (mostly) related to an adjustment of the ratio scale, based on the track.
We've always seen you with the V5Rs, is there a reason behind this choice?
This is the model I feel most comfortable with and fully enjoy on any type of terrain. Fast when it needs to be fast, agile, and perfect for climbing.
Can you describe the configurations you use?
The rear sprocket ratio remains 11/34, while I ask for some adjustments to the front sprocket ratio, depending on the characteristics of the route. For example, I used the 54/36 combination for most of the Giro stages, and only for the Monte Nerone stage did I ask for the 52/36 combination. Let's say it's to have a larger safety margin and avoid the risk of losing too much power with the pedal stroke rate.
Always 170mm cranks?
I'm sticking with the 170s.
What about wheels and tubeless?
My favorite wheels are the 4.5s. We have Enve, so it's unlikely I'll go with anything else. I usually go with 30 tubeless, but even in this case I asked for a change for the Monte Nerone stage. I used the 28s.
Narrow handlebars?
Not too much, I'd say just right for my characteristics, an integrated Enve 37 wide at the top and 39 at the bottom.
Compared to last year, staying on the technical side, everything is different. Did you have any trouble adapting?
Definitely not, and that's a significant advantage. Getting on the bike and feeling immediately at ease helps shorten the natural settling-in time. Even when it comes to drivetrains, switching from SRAM to Shimano was easy.
Even for bike fitting?
I've only done a couple of them and that also says a lot about how comfortable I am with the bike's geometry.
