Longo Borghini breaks the ice at Trofeo Oro in Euro

Third, second and finally first!

Elisa Longo Borghini has completed her progression to the first success of the year, which started last week in Belgium and finished by taking a solo win at Trofeo Oro in Euro.

Wearing the tricolore jersey, Longo Borghini won the Italian race for the second time in her career, the first coming 12 years ago, and repeated the success of Gaia Realini in 2023, who came over the line hand in hand with Amanda Spratt. While, the one-two didn’t happen this year for Lidl-Trek, it was nevertheless another great show of teamwork that created the conditions for Longo Borghini’s victory.

On a hard day, affected by the rain that fell on the peloton for half of the race, the Lidl-Trek riders, led by Ina Teutenberg (Sports Director), took the reins of the race from the first kilometers. In the second half, when the course entered the final circuit, the toughest part of the race, the pace set by Longo Borghini’s teammates made the decisive selection.

On the penultimate pass of the KOM, the group of the riders able to win was reduced to less than ten riders, with Elisa and Realini setting the pace. On the last passage, the decisive attack came. Longo Borghini forced the pace, going alone and making herself uncatchable. Elisa increased her advantage over the remaining ten kilometers, coming onto the final straight arms in the sky and with a big smile on her face.

This series of results was the peak I needed for my morale, after the question marks I had been carrying around since last year. Now I have reached the level of confidence I wanted, the serenity I was hoping for to face one of the key moments of my season. On Wednesday, I will fly to Tenerife for a training camp on Teide, after which I expect to reach my maximum condition and competitiveness ahead of the Classics season. I have put all the pieces together, now I just have to continue.

Today’s goal was to support the Team and race for Gaia, but when the rain became intense, she started to suffer from the cold. An athlete like her, unfortunately, suffers particularly on these days… I am the opposite. By mutual agreement, we swapped roles so not to miss out on the team’s ultimate goal: winning.

I wanted to get a solo win, I wanted to test myself after a tiring day at Strade Bianche, to see what I could do. Breaking away from that group wasn’t easy, however, and that makes me even more satisfied.

This week, I really got back those positive feelings that fuel my competitive spirit. The desire to race, to ride hard and to win races with a smile on my face. Today’s victory was a first target, that of breaking the ice. Now I have a big victory in my sights, the kind that makes history.