Cyclist Elisa Longo Borghini is grateful for her family’s support as she won the second edition of Paris-Roubaix Femmes with a long solo attack on Saturday, 16 April 2022.
The Italian champion gradually extended her advantage over the chasing group, leading by 41 seconds with 12km to go. Although the chase came closer in the final, Longo Borghini fought back and could celebrate in the Roubaix velodrome, winning 23 seconds ahead of Lotte Kopecky, who beat Lucinda Brand in the sprint for second place.
Elisa Longo Borghini did not think she was worthy to take the start of #ParisRoubaixFemmes after health issues forced her to miss Amstel Gold Race and Brabanste Pijl.
Thankfully the team thought otherwise.
Read more ➡️ https://t.co/8x35DT96tq
📷 @sprintcycling pic.twitter.com/6PMNXIDXHB
— Lidl-Trek (@LidlTrek) April 16, 2022
“It is just an unbelievable feeling. It has been a very tough spring for me, I had sinusitis for a month and could not perform the way I wanted. I knew I was worth more than what I was performing, and it was also a little bit frustrating,” explained Longo Borghini at the finish.
“It was a hard time, but I need to thank my family, my boyfriend Jacopo [Mosca], my mum, my dad, and my nieces for their trust, they always keep my morale up, and I want to thank Trek-Segafredo because they still had faith in me.
“They brought me here, and I was like ‘I don’t think I’m ready’, and they kept saying ‘you are more than ready, we know you can do it’, and I have to say that they were right. With the sinusitis, I could not breathe, and in cycling, breathing is everything. I had to take one step back in order to take two steps forward; I skipped Amstel and Brabantse Pijl and took a course of antibiotics to get rid of the infection. And in the end, if I feel good, I win,” she concluded.
Photo 1 Caption: Cyclist Elisa Longo Borghini is grateful for her family’s support as she won the second edition of Paris-Roubaix Femmes avec Zwift with a long solo attack on Saturday, 16 April 2022. Photo: Elisa Longo Borghini (Twitter)
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