"I looked at my values and saw that it was going to be good" - Elisa Longo Borghini bounces back from Tour of Flanders disappointment
Cycling
Elisa Longo Borghini has won the Brabantse Pijl for the second time in her career. But she had to dig quite deep to hold off the quickly approaching peloton in the final kilometer. However the numbers she saw on her bike computer simply couldn't be matched by her opponents.
"I don’t look at statistics, but it’s nice to win for a second time," Longo Borghini responded to the announcement that she holds the record for the number of victories in the Brabantse Pijl. "I like the combination of cobblestones and climbs. It’s a nice transition race between the cobbled classics and the Ardennes races."
The winner made the difference on the last time up the Moskestraat. "I like that climb, it suits me well." In an earlier lap, the Italian had already made a surprise attack. From a chasing group, she was the only female leader to cross over to the group up ahead. There, she linked up with UAE Team ADQ teammate Brodie Chapman who worked herself to bone for the Italian champion.
"I felt good and we wanted to make it a tough race. I knew she (Chapman, ed.) was strong, so I wanted to cross alone," she says. In the final kilometers it seemed to be getting exciting. The chasing group seemed to be closing in on Longo Borghini who was riding solo ahead. "I wasn’t surprised that they came back quickly because some teams still had so many riders. But I looked at my values and saw that it was good."
"I knew they had to dig really deep to catch me," said the rider who returned to the peloton after a short absence following a crash at the Tour of Flanders. "It was a really nice race today, a bit of cobblestones and a bit of climbing and I like it,” the Italian champion concluded with a smile in her best Dutch.
Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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