Elisa Longo Borghini (Lidl-Trek) will not compete at Paris-Roubaix Femmes on Sunday. She will instead stick to her original plan and target the Ardennes Classics - Amstel Gold Race, Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège - later this month.
Although after her Tour of Flanders victory Longo Borghini talked of there being a possibility that she might replace an injured Lizzie Deignan at the Hell of the North, Lidl-Trek said they have decided otherwise.
"Paris-Roubaix was not originally on her 2024 schedule, and the team have decided to stick with that in view of her other season goals," Lidl-Trek told Cyclingnews on Wednesday.
Longo Borghini has had a turn-around season where she has third at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, second at Strade Bianche, won Trofeo Oro in Euro and was sixth at Dwars door Vlaanderen.
The Italian Champion then won Tour of Flanders for the second time in her career last weekend.
In the race into Oudenaarde, Longo Borghini formed part of a powerful three-rider breakaway and then won the sprint ahead of runner-up Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon-SRAM) and teammate Shirin van Anrooij (Lidl-Trek).
She told the press that she dedicated the performance to her coach, Paolo Slongo, who helped her rebuild herself after feeling completely destroyed from last season, when she suffered COVID-19, a skin infection and sepsis.
Lidl-Trek won the first two editions of Paris-Roubaix Femmes, with Deignan in 2021 and Longo Borghini in 2022.
However, despite Deignan being sidelined from the race due to an injury sustained in a crash at the Tour of Flanders, Lidl-Trek and Longo Borghini have decided that she will not replace her teammate on the start line in Deinan.
"An update on the women’s team roster: Elisa Longo Borghini will not be the replacement for Lizzie Deignan," the team told the press.
Lidl-Trek will announce their full roster for Paris-Roubaix Femmes on Thursday.
