Elisa Longo Borghini on fire for season finale - "I don’t feel any pressure to get results in these last races, so my mind is free"

Elisa Longo Borghini rode to the win yesterday at the Giro dell'Emilia Internazionale Donne, and is keen on finishing her season on a high with the lack of pressure and success she's already achieved this year.

“It’s been six years since my last win here and a lot of things have changed since then!” said Longo Borghini at the summit of the steep ascent. “Of course, obviously, the jersey I wear, but also my level. I am a stronger rider now. It has also changed that I am getting old but I hope to be like a fine wine and just get better.”

Within the final climb, Longo Borghini was the strongest alongside Veronica Ewers and Sofia Bertizzolo, however the Paris-Roubaix winner stamped her authority in the final meters to take her fifth win of the season.

"The Saint Luca climb is a special climb with some steep parts followed by some flatter parts. So a lot depends on how you will face it. The final 100 meters are the secret and it’s important to not start too early. This is what I did. I waited to find the right moment at the end to attack and win the race," Borghini detailed her winning move.

“I am enjoying these last races of the season. I am always really determined when I come to a race with Trek-Segafredo, but I don’t feel any pressure to get results in these last races, so my mind is free," the current Italian time-trial champion said. "We can really just enjoy racing and I think when we approach the races this way we can really do well, as we saw today."

“Racing here in Italy at the end of the season is a little bit like racing at home. On Tuesday we will race in the area of Varesine, which is where I live, so it will be actually racing at home. Hopefully we can continue in Varesine, and then Tour de Romandie, the last races of the season," she concluded, revealing her upcoming calendar to wrap off a successful season.