Taking it day by day is a phrase often used by riders and, in the unpredictable world of professional cycling, it is a philosophy that is wise to follow. This is how Elisa Longo Borghini (Wiggle-High5) plans to approach the Ovo Energy Women’s Tour as she continues searching for her best form after illness put a premature end to her spring campaign.
Longo Borghini finished third in last year’s race behind Lizzie Deignan (Boels Dolmans) and Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio (Cervelo Bigla). Never one to make bold pronouncements at the best of times, Longo Borghini plays her cards close to her chest ahead of this year’s race. She limits herself to helping her team, focusing on her form and, if that materialises over the next five days, then a stage win. If success in the general classification follows on from that, then it’s a happy bonus.
“I’m not in the same shape as I was last year because last year I was at 100 per cent and now I’m still looking for some rhythm. I’m pretty confident, and I think that I can do some good work for my team,” Longo Borghini told Cyclingnews ahead of the race.
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“I will take it day by day and then see where I am on the GC. I will see how I feel and I will try for sure to help my team and to be there to back them up.”
Illness struck Longo Borghini during the Ardennes Week and forced her to skip Fleche Wallonne in the hope she could put up a challenge in Liege-Bastogne-Liege. Her top-10 finish at the race may have looked good on paper, but Longo Borghini was still struggling and had to pull the Tour de Yorkshire from her programme. A virus had gripped her, and her gastric problems were such that she had problems getting up the stairs, let alone riding her bike.
“I was already sick before Fleche Wallonne, and then the hammer really came down during the race in Liege. I wasn’t well at all, and after the race, I was KO’d,” she explained. “It was pretty serious. I wasn’t able to get up the stairs in my home. It was really violent.
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