Longo Borghini climbs to second in Tour de Suisse uphill time trial

Lidl-Trek can be satisfied with the outcome second stage uphill time trial at Tour de Suisse, with multiple positive points shown. Elisa Longo Borghini rode an extremely well-measured effort in the race of truth, which finished at 1249m altitude in Villars-sur-Ollon. It was looking like she had done enough to beat race leader Vollering, who trailed the Italian Champion by 23 seconds at the second intermediate time check, three kilometers from the finish line. However, Vollering’s late effort flipped the script, meaning she overcame the deficit to win by 17 seconds in the end.

Gaia Realini also rode a strong time trial, benefitting from the uphill profile which suits her considerably more than a traditional time trial. She finished in 6^th position, just ahead of teammates Brodie Chapman and Amanda Spratt, in 7^th and 8^th. These strong results mean that Lidl-Trek have four riders in the top 10 with two stages to go, and gives the Team various cards to play to bring the race in its favor. Notably, Longo Borghini and Realini, 2^nd and 3^rd respectively, are both less than a minute and a half behind race leader Vollering.

Crossing the finish line, seeing my time and knowing the intermediate times, I believed I could win. Or rather, I hoped for it, because with Vollering in the race you always have to wait until the end. Congratulations to her. For me, the balance is definitely positive, I am really happy. And I think that as a team we absolutely can be too; four athletes in the top ten is a remarkable result, a sign of an excellent performance. It’s an injection of confidence for the next stages, to try to put SD Worx in trouble and play our chances for a stage success and a good final classification. We are a strong team and we proved it: time trials never lie.

I am personally happy because these results are a positive feedback on the work I’ve done so far. It’s never easy to perform immediately after a period at altitude, where I worked a lot on endurance and less on maximum effort. The goal now is to put myself to the test again over the next two days, to improve my race pace and grow in condition ahead of the next races.