Longo Borghini wins Strade Bianche Women

Elisa Longo Borghini (Wiggle-High5) celebrated a dramatic Strade Bianche victory in rain-soaked Siena on Saturday, outfoxing Kasia Niewiadoma (WM3) and defending champion Lizzie Deignan to the Piazza del Campo finish line. The Italian was part of a five-rider breakaway that formed on the seventh of eight gravel sectors of the 127-kilometre UCI Women's WorldTour opener.

"I think it was a thrilling finale to watch and a thrilling finale to ride," Longo Borghini said afterwards. "This is another great victory after my two big Classics wins. It's great to have the winner's trophy. This is an important win for me because it's one of the most beautiful races in the world. It's rare. I'm very proud to have honoured the race by racing so hard."

Longo Borghini's ability to "race hard" was on full display during last weekend’s European season opener. The 25-year-old inspired the race-winning move at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad last Saturday, ultimately finishing in fifth place. The following day, she launched a late race flyer at Omloop van het Hageland that was caught only when the bunch opened its sprint, which was eventually won by her teammate Jolien d'Hoore.

"After Rio, I realised I don't need to fear anyone," said Long Borghini, bronze medallist at the 2016 Olympics. "I've realised my true abilities. Before I was fearful of my rivals. Now I respect them, but I'm not afraid."

En route to her Strade Bianche victory, Longo Borghini overcame a crash on the fifth sector of the race.

"It was in the longest sector of the dirt road, on a flat part at the start," Longo Borghini noted. "Chloe Hosking [Alé Cipollini] crashed in the middle of the road, and I couldn't avoid her. I got back on, and Piccolo Donna [teammate Audrey Cordon] gave me her bike because we're the same size. I got my spare bike at the end of the sector."

How it unfolded

The elite women set out from Siena under ominous skies. Both former Strade Bianche winners were on the start line in Boels-Dolmans duo Megan Guarnier (2015) and Lizzie Deignan (2016). Their teammate, Olympic road champion Anna van der Breggen, was the most notable non-starter. Van der Breggen's illness left the Dutch-registered powerhouse one rider short before racing had begun.

The opening kilometres of the nearly four-hour long race were fairly subdued. Guarnier withdrew with concussion symptoms following sector four. Longo Borghini and Niewiadoma were amongst the fallers on sector five – around the time that the rain began to fall heavily.

"I think it was a passive race partly because of the crash," Deignan told Cyclingnews after the podium ceremonies. "Elisa and Kasia's teams needed time to react. It was also passive because we couldn't race the way we normally do. With only four instead of six, we had to play a defensive game, which I don't like to do."

A non-threatening breakaway of three riders was the first to gain traction. The trio, including Lauren Stephens (TIBCO), Floortje Mackaij (Team Sunweb) and Lara Vieceli (Astana), gained a maximum advantage of around 90 seconds at kilometre 90 before Orica-Scott organised the chase.

A familiar figure on the front of the peloton closed the last of the gap, as Luxembourgish champion Christine Majerus, with Deignan on her wheel, drove a reduced peloton into the penultimate gravel sector.

"Christine [Majerus] and I went on instinct at that point," said Deignan. "It was the second to last gravel section. Everyone was kind of strung out. There was a descent into it. If you're on Christine's wheel, you're going to be 100 metres ahead of everyone else anyway. She is such a beast. We started the second to last gravel sector together in the first position, and I took it over from there. There was a small selection over the top."

It was from that selection that the podium would emerge. Longo Borghini, Deignan and Kasia Niewiadoma (WM3 Cycling) were joined by Orica-Scott pair Annemiek van Vleuten and Katrin Garfoot.

Eighteen kilometres and one gravel sector remained. A strong chase was taking shape in the leading quintet’s wake, but the leaders, lacking updates, were unaware that the chase was closing in.

"There were no time checks or anything," said Deignan. "We didn't know what was going on."

Three kilometres from the finish, Shara Gillow (FDJ Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope) and then Lucinda Brand (Team Sunweb) caught the leaders. Brand didn't stick around and immediately rode through the group. Gillow quickly followed suit.

Brand hit the steep climb up Via Santa Caterina with a four-second advantage on Gillow and another handful of seconds on Longo Borghini, Deignan, Niewiadoma and the Orica-Scott riders, who now included Amanda Spratt.

"I never really thought the two would stay away because they had given it everything to chase us," said Longo Borghini. "In a finish like that, you need the legs, and you could see that they were tired."

Longo Borghini was the first to bridge across. Niewiadoma’s attempt to attack from the outside was impeded briefly by a motorbike, but she too made it across to the front of the race. Longo Borghini and Niewiadoma headed towards the final corner atop the climb, 300 metres from the finish line, nearly side-by-side.

"I knew after watching previews editions of the race that the first through the corner at the top of the climb would win," said Longo Borghini. "I gave it everything to get there first. When I did, I gave it absolutely everything to win.

"I tried to be careful in the last corner because the surface was smooth," she added. "I went a bit long…but I made it."

With the race win came the UCI Women's WorldTour overall leader's jersey. "I've never worn a jersey before," said Longo Borghini. "It will be strange but nice."

During the post-race press conference, the race winner praised not only her teammates but also race organisers. "What perhaps is missing from women's cycling is media attention," said Longo Borghini. "I want to thank RCS for showing the race live today. It's a good sign, and let's hope it happens more and more. Strade Bianche has helped the women's movement, and we're all so happy to honour the race."

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