'We did something magnificent' - Elisa Longo Borghini silences doubters with strength and teamwork to win Giro d'Italia Women

Elisa Longo Borghini has become the first Italian to win the Giro d'Italia Women since five-time winner Fabiana Luperini last won the title 16 years ago in 2008, and added her name to a list of compatriots to have won the race that also includes Maria Canins, Roberta Bonanomi, and Michela Fanini. 

Longo Borghini, the reigning Italian Champion, has competed in 13 editions of the Giro d'Italia Women and finished twice on the podium in 2017 and 2020, and says it took an entire team effort to make that step up as the overall champion.

“I just think we did something magnificent today as a team. Everyone was really committed to bringing home the maglia rosa. And my teammates were fantastic. They were just doing a great job out there," Longo Borghini said.

Her team at the Giro d'Italia Women included Gaia Realini, who finished third overall last year, Lucinda Brand, Lizzie Deignan, Brodie Chapman, Lauretta Hanson and Elisa Balsamo. She also thanked her partner Jacopo Mosca for his support.

“This win is for my teammates, for the Lidl-Trek team, the entire team, the staff, everyone that is working night and day for us. And then for my husband, because he’s always believing in me," Longo Borghini said. 

Longo Borghini held the maglia rosa since winning the stage 1 time trial in Brescia, carrying the race lead through Volta Mantovana, Toano, Urbino, Foligno, Chieti and to the top of the iconic Blockhaus, in what was a dramatic race for time bonuses on the penultimate queen stage 7 against runner-up Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx-Protime).

Heading into the final stage 8, Longo Borghini held just one second ahead of Kopecky in the overall classification, and many questioned whether she could hold off the World Champion on the last day of racing into L'Aquila, where time bonuses were on offer at the finish line.

“They were saying that Kopecky would out-sprint me, but I was like, we have a one percent chance, we have one second to win, and everyone in the team was super motivated to keep the maglia rosa and to keep the leadership,” Longo Borghini said.

“I like the thrill. I like the adrenaline when it’s about one second. I like to have that head-to-head fight and to race until the end. When I see the finish line, I just see red like a bull, and I just want to go straight to it. I was nervous today, in a very good way, and I was like, I am going to crack you [Kopecky] no matter what.

“I just wanted to cross the line with the maglia rosa to show that I was the strongest and that Lidl-Trek is the strongest team. We wanted to make the race hard, to eliminate some of the SD-Worx riders, and we did."

Lidl-Trek and Longo Borghini executed their racing plan to perfection. With a breakaway up the road, Kim Le Court (AG Insurance-Soudal) took the stage win ahead of Ruth Edwards (Human Powered Health) and Franzi Koch (DSM-Firmenich PostNL).

Longo Borghini then accelerated and sprinted out of the field in the last kilometre to claim fourth place on the day and win the overall title by 21 seconds ahead of Kopecky, while Neve Bradbury (Canyon-SRAM) finished third overall at 1:16 back.

The Giro d'Italia Women's race victory caps off what has already been a successful career for Longo Borghini, who has won Tour of Flanders and Trofeo Alfredo Binda twice, Strade Bianche, Paris-Roubaix and overall titles at Women’s Tour and the UAE Tour.