Italian Champion Elisa Longo Borghini claimed victory in the fifth edition of the Tre Valli Varesine Women’s Race | e-work. The UAE Team ADQ rider outsprinted newly crowned European Champion Demi Vollering (FDJ-Suez) after the two broke away in the final part of the race. Eleonora Gasparrini finished in fourth place.
The race was first animated by a group of ten riders, including Gasparrini, before more riders joined at the front, bringing the leading group to fifteen – among them Longo Borghini and Karlijn Swinkels.
Longo Borghini tried several attacks on the climbs, but her closest rival Vollering stayed glued to her wheel. Later, Swinkels made a move together with World Champion Magdeleine Vallieres (EF Education–Oatly), but their attempt was also neutralized.
In the final kilometers, Vollering attacked once again, Longo Borghini immediately responded, and the two went on to battle for victory in a head-to-head sprint – where the Italian unleashed all her power and determination to take a remarkable win.
Elisa Longo Borghini said: “Winning ahead of Demi Vollering, who is a champion I admire a lot and one of the strongest riders in the world, gives me huge satisfaction – especially after two big disappointments at the World Championships and the Europeans. The European Championships were particularly tough because at one point my head just completely switched off. But that’s sport: sometimes you lose, sometimes you win. On Saturday, I lost badly, but today I wanted to fight back. I must admit that over the past few days my morale was really low, and I want to thank the people who are close to me — especially my teammates, who stood by me, supported me, made me smile, and helped me find the right mindset again. Today we raced as a real team, and I want to thank each one of them. They weren’t just teammates — they were people who truly supported me in a difficult moment.”
(ph. Getty Sport)
