WorldTour leader Elisa Longo Borghini (Wiggle-High5) (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Elisa Longo Borghini (Wiggle High5) wins 2017 Strade Bianche(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
A victorious Elisa Longo Borghini (Wiggle-High5)(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Elisa Longo Borghini (Wiggle High5) on the Strade Bianche podium(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Katarzyna Niewiadoma (WM3 Pro Cycling), Elisa Longo Borghini (Wiggle High5) and Elizabeth Deignan (Boels Dolmans)(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
With a win in Strade Bianche and the Women's WorldTour lead in her recent palmares, Elisa Longo Borghini (Wiggle High5) is one of the top favourites for Sunday's Trofeo Alfredo Binda, a race that takes place near her home town. Longo Borghini won the race in 2013 in stormy conditions, but hopes she can win in more pleasant weather this time.
"Normally it's a good course for me," Longo Borghini said. "It's pretty hard. I'm actually very happy that it's not going to be such bad weather as it was in 2013, because there it was a bit extreme.
"Even though I won, I don't really jump from happiness when it's rainy and cold!"
The Italian opted to add the Ronde van Drenthe to her schedule after the Strade Bianche win to extend her lead in the WorldTour, and the strategy worked.
"This year I will have the Women's WorldTour jersey, which is a plus for me, and it's very important to be in Italy with the jersey that I actually conquered in Italy. So it will be extra motivation," she said.
Longo Borghini can draw still more inspiration from the fact that the race is just kilometers away from her home town. "It's always a bit special in Cittiglio because of that," she smiled. "I will have my family there - my parents, my brother, my nieces and my sister-in-law, and it's just nice."
Wiggle High5 is sending a team similar to the one that helped her win in Strade Bianche: Giorgia Bronzini, Audrey Cordon-Ragot, and Amy Roberts will be joined by Emilia Fahlin and Claudia Lichtenberg.
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"We have such a strong team, and with the new entry of Claudia it's even stronger," said Longo Borghini. "She's a climber, she's a girl that can perform very well on that kind of terrain, and Binda suits her very well."
Wiggle-High5 Pro Cycling team for the Trofeo Alfredo Binda - Comune di Cittiglio: Giorgia Bronzini, Audrey Cordon-Ragot, Emilia Fahlin, Claudia Lichtenberg, Elisa Longo Borghini, and Amy Roberts.
