"I’ve been dreaming of the Maglia Rosa for so long" - Elisa Longo Borghini full of emotion after perfect start to Giro d'Italia Women 2024
Cycling
Now aged 32 and in her 13th ever Giro d'Italia Women, Elisa Longo Borghini proved in the opening stage individual time trial that she is still more than capable of finally taking overall victory, securing the stage win and the first Maglia Rosa of the race.
"It’s really emotional," said a tearful Longo Borghini in her post-stage interview, having edged out the Australian, Grace Brown by just a single second in the opening stage individual time trial. "For an Italian, wearing the Maglia Rosa, it’s a big deal. Maybe it’s only for one day, but I’ll be wearing the Maglia Rosa, and I’ve been dreaming of the Maglia Rosa for so long."
“Last year the Corsa Rosa didn’t go the way I wanted, due to a fall, and so I wanted to show that I was feeling good right away. The Maglia Rosa is a dream before it’s a goal, and starting like this is truly wonderful,” she continues, referencing her sad abandonment of last year's edition after a dramatic crash.
Although it was just a single second for the stage win for the Lidl-Trek leader, the time gap to other Maglia Rosa hopefuls by the time Grand Tour ends are a little more stark. Among others, Lotte Kopecky is now plus 25, Juliette Labous at plus 29, Antonia Niedermaier further back at 48 seconds, Gaia Realini is at 1'08 and Niamh Fisher-Black +1'16.
2024 Giro d'Italia Women stage 1 results:
| 1 | LONGO BORGHINI Elisa | Lidl-Trek | 50 | 00:20:37 |
| 2 | BROWN Grace | FDJ-SUEZ | 40 | + 01 |
| 3 | CHAPMAN Brodie | Lidl-Trek | 30 | + 13 |
| 4 | NOOIJEN Lieke | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | 25 | + 23 |
| 5 | KOPECKY Lotte | Team SD Worx-Protime | 20 | + 25 |
| 6 | HARTMANN Elena | Roland | 18 | + 28 |
| 7 | LABOUS Juliette | Team dsm-firmenich PostNL | 15 | + 29 |
| 8 | EDWARDS Ruth | Human Powered Health | 10 | + 30 |
| 9 | KERBAOL Cédrine | Ceratizit-WNT Pro Cycling | 8 | + 38 |
| 10 | ADEGEEST Loes | FDJ-SUEZ | 6 | + 38 |
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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parisbound0008-11-2026 - there needs to be space in life for pointless comments!Ketterechts08-11-2026
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