Longo Borghini doesn't understand Vollering's decision: "I had hoped she would be a bit smarter"

For a very, very brief moment, it looked like Elisa Longo Borghini was on her way to securing the rainbow jersey. The Italian rider made a powerful attack on the final climb of the World Championship course and seemed poised to outmaneuver the competition, but Demi Vollering had other plans and reeled her back in. Longo Borghini had to settle for third place.

"It was a very tough day," the Lidl-Trek rider began in her post-race press conference. "The weather didn’t help, and the course was very challenging. But still, it was a great day to race, and I was able to compete for the podium right until the end. My mindset was: whatever happens, I want to be on that podium, even though other riders are usually faster."

"I’m really proud of my bronze medal. We came for the win, but we gave it our all, and you have to be satisfied with the outcome," Longo Borghini said. For a moment, gold seemed within reach, but Vollering decided — after a moment of hesitation — to step up the pace and bring her Italian rival back.

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Longo Borghini looks inside head of Vollering

"I had hoped that Vollering would be a bit smarter," Longo Borghini did not waste any time. "She said beforehand that she wanted to win, which was also very well reflected in the race. But anyway, that's cycling. If someone really wants to, you just keep going. That was the case with her, I think," she said, trying to look inside Vollering's head.

The Dutchwoman declared afterwards that she had no choice. "On that last climb I wanted to try one more time, but then Longo overtook. I had to chase her, because otherwise you're done for anyway."