Among the thanks of Elisa Longo Borghini after Flanders' victoryPerhaps the most heartfelt ones reached Paolo Slongo, who saw the race on TV after a five-hour training session on Teide with some guys from the Giro group. Lidl Trek, The Treviso native has humbly taken on a behind-the-scenes role which, judging by the results, is truly bearing fruit.It was him who stopped the Piedmontese last September after the third stage of the Romandie and imposed the longest stoppage of his career. The goal was to reset a system in crisis due to the many hitches and with hindsight we can say that the operation was successful.
How does it feel to be thanked in that way by a champion who has just won the Flanders Championships?
It was a pleasure, It's my job and I always do it with passion.I've known Elisa all my life and last year we realized we had to get her back after a really unlucky year. She had started off very well, winning the UAE Then she contracted Covid with a very high fever. We sped up to get her ready for the Classics, and although she wasn't at her best, she finished third in the Tour of Flanders and second in the Liège. Then we went to the Giro, he won a stage and she could have fought for the overall standings with Van Vleuten, but instead she crashed and the Giro was over. The Tour was going well, but the problem with that gland came up and at that point we stopped her. She would have liked to resume, but it would have been a useless thing to wring her neck.
Stopping was perhaps the hardest part…
Elisa likes to train and ride her bike. Telling her to stop seemed like blasphemy. Luckily, her marriage and honeymoon helped her to... get out of the usual routine and this caused the system to reset.
In December he kept saying to go very slowly…
When you start again after such a long time, it always seems like you're going slowly. We need to rebuild one little step at a time.I've actually known Elisa since she was a junior, because I helped Rigato when he was at Fassa Bortolo. So at a certain point I said to her: "You have to trust me. And you'll see that you'll go faster than in previous years."
And she?
She trusted me, even if sometimes she sent me photos showing low values. We started out with many doubts: "Will I ever be the same again?"And once again I told her not to think so much and finally the first results arrived.
Is it true that Flanders' victory was born on Teide?
Before the classics, the two of us were up here. Niewiadoma was there with her team, and Marianne Vos, too, but we just sat there and did our job alone, each in our own role. We are a fall in love with what we do and the results have started to come in. The morale was already different. Second place at the Strade Bianche had said it was there, even if some little pieces were missing.
Did you think he could win Flanders?
When you work well, the results come. And the Flanders was perfect both in terms of the route and the fact that it was raining. She's like the one I trained before (smiles referring to Nibali, ed.), she has great endurance and excels in bad weather..
Did last season's fragmented nature take anything away from you in any way?
I don't think so, he's maintained his good level. At the beginning of the year, he already had something more than the previous year, now he needs another leap. The nice thing is having won, in fact. to be ahead knowing that there is still 10 percent of condition to be found.
Elisa won the Tour of Flanders in 2015 and then nine years later: how has it changed?
She remained strong, cycling has changed. You're always on the road with a bike, and at 23, she showed she was truly strong. Nine years later it has retained the ability to dominate the others and I found it really very beautiful.
Was the sprint victory so obvious?
There was a bit of a risk. I'm up here and her husband is also with us Jacopo (Moscow, ed.) So we returned from training in time to watch the women's race. We were at the table wondering why it wasn't attacking.. In fact, Elisa then told us that Shirin Van Anrooij was tired from working so hard. Niewiadoma also struggled when she had to shoot, so Elisa went to the sprint really confidentAnd there's an anecdote about sprinting.
Would be?
When we did sprints on Teide, to provoke her I told her to do some best times. And since she never made it, I told her she would make some in the competition.Well, in the days before the Flanders, one of the activities was to do some sprints and for two consecutive days she did her best in sprints. She was fine and the good feeling is still have margin and the ability to maintain this condition for a long time to come.
Will Elisa do the Roubaix?
No, we remain faithful to the original plan. And since the goal is to do well in Liège, Roubaix was a suggestion, but she will also watch it on television.
And you now live on Teide?
It's part of my job, I do very few races in proportion. Now we're here with part of the Giro group and we're not in a hotel, but in some apartments that have been set up to house the athletes, since there is no longer any room to be foundWe're at home with the cook, and to get electricity, we need to turn on the generator. It's a bit of an adventure, but it's working well. We'll be back on April 14th, then we'll see what's on the schedule.
