Elisa Longo Borghini wins Tre Valli Varesine

Just three days after taking the spoils at the Giro dell'Emilia, Elisa Longo Borghini added a new victory to her palmarès in the second edition of Tre Valli Varesine. Teammate Elisa Balsamo, now sporting the Italian tricolore, finished strongly in 4th to add the the Trek-Segafredo points haul.

 

How it happened

 

Trek-Segafredo entered the race with two routes to victory - a sprint with former World Champion Balsamo, or an attack from Longo Borghini.

 

Committed to the team plan as always, Longo Borghini delighted in the chance to attack on the climbs - it took three efforts before she was able to shed her competition. The first two softened up her rivals before her final devastating attack with 10km to go on the final ascent of the Montello climb during the last lap around Varese. From that moment Elisa started her solo bid for the line - she had to fight for the final 10km to remain ahead of her chasers before raising her hands in victory. Two chasers followed behind before Elisa Balsamo came in fastest from the reduced bunch sprint in 4th place.

 

 Elisa Longo Borghini: "It was definitely a nice win, on a route that suited me well with a hard and hectic final circuit which served as a launch pad to get the solo win.

 

 "I knew the Montello climb well, the decisive point the race, and I knew I could make the difference there. It was a challenging but fast circuit and I needed a few efforts to make the difference. I knew several fast riders who would have a chance to survive and the small gap I finished with is the proof. Sierra showed to be really competitive, she was my biggest concern at some point. I was confident, I tried few attacks in the final two laps, and then the final lap was the good one.

 

 "I’m good in this finale of the season. The form is there and I think I’m having a boost of determination pushing me in these last races. Emilia on Saturday and today’s Tre Valli Varesine are the proof. For me it’s a sort of revenge for some key events of my season that didn’t go as I wanted, like the Tour de France and the Worlds. It’s like a relief. I’m really facing every race with the desire to have fun on my bike, to compete and race to win. I’m really enjoying this moment."