Elisa Longo Borghini (UAE Team ADQ) entered the stage 4 time trial of the Vuelta a Burgos Féminas with one goal: to pass Yara Kastelijn (Fenix-Deceuninck) in the general classification and secure second place overall.
In a strong performance, she clocked the third-best time of the day and overcame a 33-second deficit on Kastelijn to finish runner-up in the general classification.
"The goal was to reach second place in the GC, and I managed to do that, so I consider myself satisfied. And more in general, these four days were very productive because we always raced well as a team and made the race," said Longo Borghini.
The Italian champion was always near the front of the race, as she finished fourth in the uphill sprint on stage 1 and came in with most of the favourites on stage 2, 18 seconds down on late attackers Mie Bjørndal Ottestad (Uno-X Mobility) and Marlen Reusser (Movistar).
On the stage 3 mountaintop finish to Picón Blanco, Reusser and Kastelijn were stronger than Longo Borghini, leaving the overall victory was out of reach going into the final stage. However, a strong time trial performance over the 9.4km-long course meant that she finished runner-up behind Reusser on the final podium.
Aside from the result, Longo Borghini was also pleased with how her team had raced over the four stages, with promising signs ahead of her next major objective at the Giro d'Italia Women in July.
"We were always active and created actions that led to the result we saw today. I am satisfied because I got the signs I expected on the road of preparation towards the Giro d'Italia."
Six weeks from now, she will start her home race as the defending champion, with the hope of repeating her overall victory from last year.
