Vittoria Guazzini outpowers Elisa Longo Borghini to secure elite women's Italian time trial title

Vittoria Guazzini (FDJ-SUEZ racing for GS Fiamme Oro) secured the elite women's individual time trial title for the second year in a row at the Italian Road Championships on Thursday. The 24-year-old was the fastest in the 28km race against the clock with a time of 34:19, beating Elisa Longo Borghini (UAE Team ADQ) by six seconds and Federica Venturelli (UAE Development) by 1:15 in San Vito al Tagliamento.

Guazzini, who won her first elite time trial title last year, made an exceptional comeback in the last half of the event, making up a 10-second deficit and then putting six more seconds into her biggest rival on the day.

"When I started, I didn't have great feelings, probably due above all to the heat, but it was in my plans to try to save a bit in the first part and accelerate in the final," Guazzini said in a post-race interview with Tuttobiciweb.

Latest Videos From

"I think I managed to do it well. I just concentrated on being as aerodynamic as possible, keeping my head down and pushing as hard as I could. In these cases, the numbers don't count for much, especially if you win and there's nothing to explain".

The field covered 28km in a time trial held from Morsano al Tagliamento to San Vito al Tagliamento. It is the second year in a row that Guazzini, a former under-23 world champion, has beaten Longo Borghini in the elite category event.

"Last year's situation was a bit strange for everyone," Guazzini told Tuttobiciweb. "Elisa is extraordinary, she goes strong everywhere, she has a list of achievements that speaks for itself, but in the time trial, we were always there to fight. Beating someone like her makes this victory even more precious."

Results

Results powered by FirstCycling