Giro d’Italia Ladies winner Elisa Longo Borghini introduced at this time on X (previously Twitter) that she is not going to begin the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift this Monday, August 12, as a result of lingering results of a coaching crash this previous week. Though she did not maintain any fractures, the Italian bike owner shared that she “left plenty of pores and skin on the street” and is presently unable to experience her bike.
She added, “I really feel gutted to not be alongside my teammates to battle for an amazing Tour.”
Longo Borghini has skilled a mixture of highs and lows on the French Grand Tour over the previous two editions. In 2022, she completed sixth total after enjoying a key position within the race. Nonetheless, in 2023, after crashing and withdrawing from the Giro d’Italia Ladies, she returned to compete within the Tour de France Femmes however was as soon as once more compelled to desert earlier than stage 7 as a result of a pores and skin an infection, capping off a difficult 12 months.
In 2024, Longo Borghini determined to prioritize the Giro d’Italia, the place she claimed the general victory on dwelling soil. Following her triumph, she competed on the Olympic Video games and was thought of a possible darkish horse contender for the Tour de France.
The Lidl-Trek squad will line up for the Tour de France Femmes with Gaia Realini and Shirin van Anrooij because the designated basic classification leaders. The crew’s roster additionally consists of Lucinda Model, Amanda Spratt, Elisa Balsamo, Lizzie Deignan and Ellen van Dijk.
“Gaia and Shirin will each have the chance to see what they’ll do on the Normal Classification and we have now some actually sturdy help for them. Elisa will, naturally, be our chief for sprints whereas, Lucinda, Lizzie, Spratty, and Ellen deliver a wealth of expertise to our line-up,” Lidl-Trek sport director Jeroen Blijlevens mentioned in a crew assertion.
“Total, we have now a very well-balanced crew with a gaggle of riders that every one have the energy to win in numerous methods and everybody is happy in regards to the problem forward.”
The newest race content material, interviews, options, opinions and professional shopping for guides, direct to your inbox!
Balsamo will probably be searching for victory within the opening two phases however she should deal with sprinters Charlotte Kool (DSM-Firmenich PostNL), Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime) and Marianne Vos (Visma-Lease A Bike).
The 26-year-old Italian outpaced Kool on the Basic Brugge-De Panne, defeated Vos on the Setmana Ciclista Valenciana earlier this spring, and outsped each Wiebes and Kool on the primary stage of the 2023 Simac Women Tour.
Balsamo, Deignan, and Van Dijk all competed within the Olympic street race for his or her respective international locations on August 4th, with Deignan reaching the very best end amongst them, putting twelfth. Van Dijk additionally participated within the Olympic time trial, the place she secured eleventh place.
In the meantime, Model, Spratt, Realini and Van Anrooij hung out at altitude camp in Andorra for a block of coaching earlier than gathering in Rotterdam.
“We’re coming into the Tour de France Femmes off the again of an enormous win for the Staff on the Giro d’Italia Ladies and I believe that has given everybody plenty of confidence and motivation for the race forward. Lidl-Trek at all times line-up at first of a race with massive objectives and the ambition, in addition to means, to win. Nonetheless, for the final two years, luck has not been on the Staff’s facet they usually haven’t received the outcomes they possibly ought to have. We wish that to alter this 12 months,” Blijlevens mentioned.
With remorse I gained’t be at first of #TDFF2024 as a result of penalties of a crash in coaching. No fractures, however I left lot of pores and skin on the street and I can’t experience my bike.I really feel gutted to not be alongside my teammates to battle for an amazing Tour for @lidltrek. Good luck girls! pic.twitter.com/sVvJsPK88uAugust 10, 2024
Get limitless entry to all of our protection of the 2024 Tour de France Femmes – together with breaking information and evaluation reported by our journalists on the bottom from each stage because it occurs and extra. Discover out extra.
