'It is horrific' - Elisa Longo Borghini prepares for tough test at Liège-Bastogne-Liège

With less than 48 hours to wait until the final race of the Spring Classics, Liège-Bastogne-Liège Femmes, Lidl-Trek’s Elisa Longo Borghini is itching to get going in a race that suits her perhaps more than any other.

Over the last three seasons, Longo Borghini has finished third, fifth and most recently second at the race in which she has started every edition.

“I think it is a hard race and a long one. I am an endurance rider so probably it suits me for this reason and in the end, I have a lot of love for this race - I just like it a lot,” she told GCN.

Shortly after winning the Tour of Flanders at the end of March and with her Lidl-Trek teammate Lizzie Deignan ruled out through injury, there was a chance that Longo Borghini might line up at Paris-Roubaix Femmes avec Zwift and scrap her original plan to skip the Queen of the Classics. But a few days later, Longo Borghini was absent from the Roubaix start list and it became clear the Italian was committing to the Ardennes Classics.

Read more: Elisa Longo Borghini rebuilds from ‘destroyed’ rider to win Tour of Flanders

Speaking to GCN two days out from Liège-Bastogne-Liège, it is her love for the Ardennes Classics that stands out, even above the desire to expand her rich palmarès.

“I grew up with this race and watching [Philippe] Gilbert winning it and I was always fascinated as a kid and as a young girl. Finally, we have got Liège for us [the women’s race began in 2017] and it is a race I really enjoy. Well, I say ‘enjoy’ - I like to be at the start and then I don’t really enjoy Roche-aux-Faucons,” she said, with an eye on one of the race’s toughest climbs.

Longo Borghini made her professional debut in 2011 for Top Girls Fassa Bortolo Ghezzi, the same year that Gilbert won Liège-Bastogne-Liège, Brabantse Pijl, Amstel Gold Race and La Flèche Wallonne in a flawless spring campaign.

Six years on, Longo Borghini rode the inaugural edition of Liège-Bastogne-Liège Femmes and enjoyed her first taste of the tough hills that have coloured the men’s race since it began in 1892.

“Straight after Roche-aux-Faucons you go a little bit up and down and there is this long stretch before you enter a town. It is horrific,” she recalled.

“I remember in 2017 I ended up in the front group and I wondered what I was doing there, I just wanted to crash on the field and stay there forever, because it was really really hard. It is like a drug but it is super hard and normally it is always a headwind, so that’s the hardest part of Liège for me.”

Read more: Liège-Bastogne-Liège: 10 riders to watch

As unenjoyable as the climbs may be in the heat of battle, however, it is the difficulty of Liège-Bastogne-Liège that makes Longo Borghini one of the top favourites for Sunday’s race.

SD Worx-ProTime’s dominance wanes and Lidl-Trek seek their chances

Of the 13 Women’s WorldTour races so far in 2024, SD Worx-ProTime have won five of them. By contrast, they had seven by this point last year and would take an eighth at Liège-Bastogne-Liège through Vollering, who won all three Ardennes Classics in 2023.

The era of SD Worx-Protime is far from over, but it is fair to say that the Women’s WorldTour has enjoyed a little more parity this season and with that, the entertainment has arguably improved.

“I share the same idea as you,” Longo Borghini said, agreeing that the season has been enjoyable. “I think it has been quite nice also to watch the races because they are more unpredictable, you don’t go into the race with the idea that this one rider will be winning and we have to fight for second place.”

© Getty Images

Demi Vollering pipped Longo Borghini to the line in a two-up sprint at last year's Liège

Despite Vollering’s relative drought so far this year, Longo Borgini and Lidl-Trek will expect to face the Dutch national champion at her best on Sunday.

“You can never underestimate Vollering, she is one of the big favourites for Sunday and I think she will be there. Of course, it is easier if I come to the finish alone, but she is strong and it is hard to drop her, she will be there trying to do her best also.”

Read more: GCN's official preview for the 2024 Liège-Bastogne-Liège Femmes

Lidl-Trek will be up to their usual antics, using multiple strong riders to wear down their opponents and create the best scenario possible for one of their riders to emerge victorious at the end of the race. With Gaia Realini recovered from the cold at Flèche Wallonne and Van Anrooij in sparkling form, Longo Borghini can have full confidence in the riders at her side.

“Our mentality is to play the game and whoever wins we are happy. I think we are going into Liège with a very strong team and many cards to play. We will just do our own race and focus on our own tactic, then whatever the outcome will be, the most important thing is that we do our 110% best,” she said.

Having twice been beaten by Vollering a sprint for the Liège-Bastogne-Liège title, Longo Borghini is under no illusions that dropping the SD Worx-ProTime leader will be her best bet on Sunday, but ever the pragmatist, the Brabantse Pijl champion is not afraid to come to the line alongside her rivals.

“Obviously being solo makes you feel much safer, so it is the ideal scenario for every race you race, but if you can’t you just have to sprint for the best place you can.”

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