Cycling, Elisa Longo Borghini makes an encore: she wins the Italian championship on the road after the time trial

The elite women’s road race of Comano Terme, which closed the Italian road cycling championships, was resolved at the photo finish. After dominating Friday’s time trial, Elisa Longo Borghini (Trek-Segafredo) also won the road race, narrowly beating Silvia Persico (UAE Team ADQ), Marta Cavalli (FDJ) and teammate Gaia Realini in the sprint , winner of the U23 title and decisive for the captain Longo Borghini in the last two laps of the difficult course in Comano Terme.

Realini was the protagonist of a great action in the last passage of the Cavrasto climb, but Persico and Cavalli managed to organize the chase. Once they reached Realini, Longo Borghini started on the counterattack with Persico glued to her wheel. With a good action in the following downhill stretch Cavalli managed to get back on top of the race together with Realini. The quartet was compact in the last kilometre, where Elisa Longo Borghini surprisingly managed to excel in the sprint over Silvia Persico, conquering her eleventh tricolor among the Elites (the fourth in line).

“I’m happy, it’s a day to frame” – declared Elisa Longo Borghini hotly. – “I won in the sprint, I’m not a specialist, even if I’ve improved a lot. After such long and demanding races, the sprint becomes a a matter of energy rather than specialization. For this reason, on the climb I gave way to Gaia (Realini), while I focused on the sprint. I dedicate this victory to my boyfriend Jacopo (Moscow, also a Trek-Segafredo rider), to my family and to the people who help me every day”.