Elisa Longo Borghini took part in the third Olympics road race of her career in Paris on Sunday but couldn't upgrade on her bronze medals from Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo.
The Italian finished 3:05 down on Kristen Faulkner and still managed to record a top-10 finish at the end of the 157.6km race, and later apologised for her race.
Speaking to Bici.Pro, the 32-year-old – who last week took eighth in the Olympics time trial – said that she simply didn't have the legs to challenge for another medal on Sunday.
"I'm so sorry. It's not the result I wanted," Longo Borghini said. "I have no excuses and I'm not looking for them. Simply, my legs weren't working. I had already imagined it in the first part, but of course, I tried anyway. Then at a certain point, I just shut down in an instant.
"I apologise to everyone – to the fans who followed me from home to the many Italians who were on the course. I saw them, I heard them, and I felt their encouragement. Overall, it was a great race with a great atmosphere. But right now, everything is taking a back seat because I am very disappointed."
Longo Borghini said that she could well have finished "fourth or 20th" for all the difference it made, with her eventual ninth place being just another position out of the medals. She reiterated that the fault of her self-confessed under-par showing lay with her legs and said there was no point in looking for any alternative explanations.
"The point is not the result. I could have been fourth or 20th. I'm sorry I wasn't at my best, because that means I didn't honour the jersey I was wearing," Longo Borghini said. "All in all, I think we did the right race and that we all moved well.
"In fact, I thank my teammates for the work they did. Each of us gave what we had today, unfortunately, it wasn't enough. I really don't know what to say, nor do I think we need to look for some kind of explanation because I clearly felt that I had switched off. One meter before I was there, one meter after I was gone."
Longo Borghini has already experienced great success this season, having won the Tour of Flanders and Brabantse Pijl during the spring before winning the Italian road title and the Giro d'Italia Women this summer.
Following her Olympics disappointment, Longo Borghini will now turn her attention to the Tour de France Femmes, where she's set to lead Lidl-Trek. She finished sixth at the race two years ago and will be aiming for another top GC placing this time around.
"Now I will go home and start thinking about the Tour de France," she said. "There is not a moment of rest and maybe that's better.
"This is a blow that hurts and will continue to hurt, but I cannot allow it to condition the rest of the season, because there is still a lot of racing."
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