Reigning Champion Longo Borghini: “I don’t feel the pressure”

In Italian cycling, Elisa Longo Borghini has been the number one rider for several years now. This year, just as in 2025, the Piedmont-born athlete will once again wear bib number one at the Giro d’Italia Women, as the race’s defending champion. She is a two-time reigning champion of the Corsa Rosa: in 2024 she won wearing the Lidl-Trek jersey, and last year with UAE Team ADQ.

She ended a drought of Italian victories that had lasted since 2008, when Fabiana Luperini claimed the title, but she certainly has no intention of stepping aside now. Elisa has been at the top of the sport for around a dozen years, and if every season she has returned stronger, more motivated, and more successful than before, it is because she possesses an innate fighter’s mentality.

This year, she won the UAE Tour in February, after which her spring classics campaign did not go well due to a persistent bout of bronchotracheitis that slowed her down for practically the entire spring. “My first part of the season deserves a solid 3 out of 10, because I got sick on March 20 and recovered on April 20 — it really couldn’t have gone any worse,” Elisa admitted, showing once again that winning mentality.

Route Analysis

Her focus has now shifted to the Giro d’Italia Women, which Longo Borghini has been preparing for with altitude training on Mount Teide. Earlier, she also had the opportunity to closely study the route that riders will tackle from 30 May 30 to 7 June.

“I reconnoitered the Nevegal stage and the one from Longarone to Santo Stefano di Cadore, both of which will significantly shake up the general classification,” explained the defending champion. “Even in the uphill time trial, I expect important time gaps, so riders will need to be ready, because thinking the race will be decided entirely on the Colle delle Finestre would be a mistake. I know the Finestre well — it’s almost a home climb for me. I’ve trained in Sestriere many times, so I’ve ridden it quite a lot. I can’t wait to race it; it will be a great spectacle for everyone”.