A major setback for Elisa Longo Borghini. The Italian rider of Lidl-Trek has had to pull out of the Tour de France Femmes, which starts in Rotterdam in a few days. Longo Borghini is still suffering too much from a crash during a training ride.
"With much regret, I won’t be at the start of the Tour de France Femmes due to the consequences of a crash in training," Longo Borghini shared via her social media. "No fractures, but I left a lot of skin on the asphalt and I can't ride my bike. I feel gutted not to be alongside my teammates to fight for a great Tour for Lidl-Trek. Good luck, ladies!"
Longo Borghini's withdrawal is a significant setback for Lidl-Trek. Normally, she would have been the team's top contender for a high overall classification. Now, that responsibility will mainly fall on the shoulders of climber Gaia Realini and Shirin van Anrooij.
Longo Borghini did participate in the previous two editions of the Tour de France Femmes. The first time around, she finished sixth in the general classification. A year later, she fared much worse, having to abandon the race after six stages. So far, Longo Borghini has yet to win a stage in the Tour. Earlier this year, she impressively won the Tour of Flanders and the Giro Donne in her home country. Unfortunately, Longo Borghini won’t be able to showcase that top form in the coming week.
