Elisa Longo Borghini will not be competing in the upcoming La Vuelta Femenina, she announced on social media, saying she had contracted an "aggressive stomach bug".
Longo Borghini started the season strongly, winning the UAE Tour, but missed the Trofeo Alfredo Binda and Strade Bianche in March after catching COVID-19 and said she spent 10 days in bed while sick.
The rest apparently did the trick, and she bounced quickly back to take a surprise third in the Tour of Flanders behind solo victor Lotte Kopecky.
The Italian was on strong form in Liège-Bastogne-Liège, where she finished second from a two-rider breakaway behind Demi Vollering (SD Worx), who won all three Ardennes Classics.
La Vuelta Femenina by Carrefour has built itself up as the third Grand Tour for women, growing from a token one-day race coinciding with the final day of the men's Vuelta a España to a stand-alone seven-day stage race that is part of the Women's WorldTour and now held in May.
The race begins with a team time trial in Torrevieja on Monday, May 1.
Trek-Segafredo for La Vuelta Femenina by Ceratizit
- Elynor Bäckstedt
- Lizzie Deignan
- Lisa Klein
- Gaia Realini
- Ilaria Sanguineti
- Amanda Spratt
- Tayler Wiles
