Longo-Ciprelli still firing

The incredible palmarès of Jeannie Longo-Ciprelli continued to grow last Saturday with a second place in the Gran Premio Brissago Lago Maggiore.

The 50-year-old from Saint-Gervais-les-Bains proved that she's lost very little of her speed, despite a career spanning three decades. As each year passes there's speculation surrounding her retirement date, although this latest result indicates she's far from finished.

With the track world championships approaching there was the chance Longo-Ciprelli may contest the event in Poland, given her pedigree. She has three world championship titles on the boards and took an incredible fourth place in the road individual time trial at last year's Beijing Olympic Games.

Given that she beat the likes of Kirsten Wild, Karin Thürig and Edita Pucinskaite in Switzerland, Longo-Ciprelli has shown that 2009 may be another vintage year for the irrepressible Frenchwoman.