We see more and more in modern cycling that there are people capable of doing amazing things in both the Classics and stage races,’ says Elisa Longo Borghini. ‘For me, Tadej Pogačar is one in a million, a born champion. Then you see Wout van Aert – he goes more for stages than the GC, but he still wins a bit everywhere: up Mont Ventoux and then in cyclocross.’
And what about herself? ‘I mean, I’m average in everything, so I’m not a good one.’
Add self-deprecation to her repertoire. Few other riders can compare with Longo Borghini, who has Paris-Roubaix, the Tour of Flanders and Strade Bianche at the top of her palmarès. She has stood on the podium at the women’s Giro d’Italia and challenged for the Tour de France Femmes. She has Italian national time-trial titles and Olympic Road Race medals. She can even milk a cow. Beat that, Tadej and Wout.
As we sit in a restaurant in Bruges over coffee (Segafredo, naturally), next to wine crates compacted into a feature wall, it seems the Italian’s career is ageing like a fine bottle of her local Barolo. She has been taking stubborn, prestigious victories at cycling’s top table for more than a decade.
Even with her longevity and versatility, the recent years have been full of surprises. The 31-year-old Lidl-Trek (the new name for Trek-Segafredo) rider has discovered that the best-laid plans can go to waste, and has learned to roll with it. Her 2022 Paris-Roubaix glory came days after wanting to not race it after a bout of sinusitis.
On that 30km solo ride to victory, her lead rarely exceeded 25 seconds. Her rivals regularly saw her, but they couldn’t catch her. Bouncing around the cobbles and gritting her teeth on the offensive, there’s no better evocation of her racing style and mental strength.
This story is from the August 2023 - 142 edition of Cyclist UK.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the August 2023 - 142 edition of Cyclist UK.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Best of both worlds
The new Trek Madone blends the speed of the brand's quickest superbike with the lightness of its mountain-crushing Émonda to become the ultimate race bike
Eddy Merckx Pévèle Carbon
A versatile design that shows the pros and cons of flexible build options
Gravel ride: Girona Welcome to Cycling Central
Girona in Catalonia has become one of Europe's most popular cycling venues thanks to its weather, roads and culture. But it's still possible to leave the hordes behind by going off-tarmac
Revolutions and evolutions
The wheel may be a 5,000-year-old invention but designers are still finding ways to make it lighter, faster, safer and more stable.
Kitzbüheler Horn
The Austrian climb that dishes out pain
Cycling history in six items
In the first of a series on cyling's historical artefacts, Cyclist visits the KOERS Museum in Belgium to discover the pick of the exhibits.
Different times
What was the cycling world like 75 years ago? Now in his midnineties, Scottish former champion Ramsay Mackay remembers those times like they were yesterday
Big Ride: Alpe d'Huez - Climb and a half
No climb is as emblematic of the Tour de France as Alpe d'Huez. Ahead of its first appearance at the women's Tour, Cyclist takes a ride around it and up it. And then up it again
This Olympic Road Race might actually be worth watching
A punchy finale around Paris's Butte de Montmartre will bring the excitement usually missing from the Olympic Road Race, says Felix Lowe
Beryl Burton wins her first road Worlds
Beryl Burton claimed the first of two World Championships Road Race titles in 1960, becoming the first rider to win pursuit and road world titles in the same year
