Elisa Longo Borghini claimed a magnificent solo victory in Stage 2 of the Tour de Suisse Women, crossing the finish line alone in Locarno and moving into the overall race lead.
The Italian champion delivered a perfectly judged performance. After benefiting from the strong work of her UAE Team ADQ teammates in the early part of the race, Longo Borghini carefully controlled the action on the decisive climb before launching the attack that proved decisive.
At the key moment of the stage, she accelerated clear of Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon//SRAM zondacrypto) just as Marlen Reusser (Movistar Team) and Sarah Van Dam (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) were closing in from behind. From there, the UAE Team ADQ rider steadily increased her advantage, extending her lead from ten seconds to twenty and eventually close to half a minute.
Behind her, with just over three kilometres remaining, Niewiadoma and Reusser took a wrong turn, losing additional time before being caught by Steffi Häberlin (Team SD Worx – Protime).
After 105.6 kilometres of racing, Longo Borghini crossed the finish line in Locarno 30 seconds ahead of Sarah Van Dam. The chasing group of Steffi Häberlin, Marlen Reusser and Kasia Niewiadoma finished 47 seconds behind, taking third, fourth and fifth places respectively.
The result sees Longo Borghini move into the overall lead of the Tour de Suisse Women, holding a 27-second advantage over Lauren Dickson (FDJ-SUEZ), 34 seconds over Sarah Van Dam, 53 seconds over Steffi Häberlin, and 57 seconds over both Marlen Reusser and Kasia Niewiadoma.
After pulling on the yellow jersey, Elisa Longo Borghini said: “I was feeling really good. At first, I couldn’t understand why Kasia wasn’t working with me, but then I realised she was suffering a bit. So I decided to try something. I attacked, saw that she couldn’t respond, and kept going all the way to the finish line. I’m very happy with this victory, especially because my whole family was here. We’re not far from home and it’s always special to have them close by. I’m even prouder of this win because my mother was here to see it. Tomorrow I’ll try to enjoy wearing the yellow jersey and we’ll see what happens.”
The Tour de Suisse Women continues tomorrow with Stage 3, a 120.8-kilometre route in and around Bad Ragaz featuring a single Category 3 climb.
(ph. Getty Sport)
