Trek-Segafredo will be down a key rider for Amstel Gold Race Ladies Edition on Sunday after a sinus infection has sidelined Elisa Longo Borghini. Although she competed at the Tour of Flanders last weekend, the Italian said that she had been suffering from a lingering infection for much of the early season.
“This spring has been a little bit of a roller coaster for me. We planned to start not in good shape but I also had to face a seasonal cold and I have been struggling for 15 days with a sinusitis. I still have it a little bit,” Longo Borghini said ahead of the Tour of Flanders on April 1.
At that time, Longo Borghini expected to be on the start line in Oudenaarde, but stated that she wasn't sure how she would perform. She ended up finishing 33rd and 1:37 behind race winner Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx).
Longo Borghini was initially meant to be one of the team's leaders at Amstel Gold Race, however, Trek-Segafredo announced Thursday that she needed more time to recover.
"Unfortunately we will be without Elisa Longo Borghini at Amstel Gold Race. She was due to be one of our leaders but will skip the classic to give her some more time to return to her best after a cold. We'll let you know her new schedule for the coming weeks," the team confirmed.
Trek-Segafredo will field road World Champion Elisa Balsamo, who won a succession of three races at Brugge-De Panne, Trofeo Alfredo Binda and Gent-Wevelgem, along with Lucinda Brand, Leah Thomas, Shirin van Anrooij, Tayler Wiles and time trial World Champion Ellen van Dijk.
Longo Borghini's participation at the upcoming Paris-Roubaix Femmes is also in question and will depend on her recovery. She finished third at the Hell of the North while her teammate Lizzie Deignan went on to secure a history-making victory.
