Elisa Longo Borghini recovers from crash to take silver - "We knew that today was the hardest stage"

It was a hectic day in Ceratizit Challenge by La Vuelta, and Elisa Longo Borghini couldn’t agree more. In spite of a harsh crash, she won silver.

“We knew that today was the hardest stage with a lot of climbing and that I could potentially lose the jersey, and I did,” said Longo Borghini. She thanked her teammates for helping her, costing them their own time loss. “The whole team did a good job, especially Elisa Balsamo after I crashed. She rode me back right before the second-to-last climb where the race went.”

She was able to join Pelton and ride with Van Vleuten before she decided to start her attack. “I managed to stay with her and Demi Vollering until three kilometers from the top. She dropped first me, then Demi. I worked together with Lippert to get to Demi, and then we worked well together until the finish,” concluded Longo Borghini. She holds the second position in GC, 1 minute and 55 seconds behind overall leader Annemiek van Vleuten.