Records are being broken in every Grand Tour - Elisa Longo Borghini points out women's cycling clear evolution
Cycling
It is not just the case that in men's cycling, climbing performances have been evolving dramatically over the past few years. The level in the women's side of the sport is also increasing dramatically, Tour de France Femmes podium finisher Elisa Longo Borghini said it herself.
Longo Borghini advocates for increase in youth teams
"What I would like to see is the base to be a little bit more wide, let's say, and to not see small teams disappearing," Longo Borghini said in words to Cyclingnews. "Because otherwise we will not have a change of generation. Young girls will not have a chance to have experience".
With the platform to speak up for young riders, the Italian pro has advocated for the aid of younger teams, that could hopefully continue to feed into women's cycling talent pool and keep the sport moving forward with new stars.
As evidence, she talks of herself as an example: "I did the third year of juniors because I was not good. I never did a single European Championship or World Championship as a junior, and now I'm standing on the podium of the Tour de France".
"Who knows – maybe out there, there is a strong girl that didn't get the chance to go into a development team at the moment and is still riding maybe in Continental or not in a UCI team. I would like to see more races for young girls, under-23, in the future."
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Now at 34, Longo Borghini continues to achieve the results that began having in 2013. The Italian's longevity is impressive within the sport and the motivation continues to run high for the UAE Team ADQ rider.
Her level continues to increase as the year's go by, but the overall level in the peloton sees a similar trend. "The level of women's cycling in general is very high at the moment. At the Tour de France, it's always funny because all these numbers come out about watts per kilo and time of climbing and stuff like that. But in every Grand Tour, if we can call them like this for us, we are breaking records".
Longo Borghini just finished third at the Tour de France Femmes, the result of consistency but also very strong climbing performances and tactical prowess on the race's hilly days. She did this off the back of a victory at the Italian national championships and a fourth place at the Giro Donne.
In 2025 she won the Giro Donne ahead of Marlen Reusser and Sarah Gigante, two riders who pushed her to the limit, having to do performances similar to what she just pulled off at the Tour. "Also at the Giro last year, 5.3W/Kg was done, but nobody spoke about it because it was not the Tour," she reveals.
The 5.3W/Kg number was brought up specifically as it was the reported power output of Kasia Niewiadoma during her 55-minute ascent of Mont Ventoux - highly rated as perhaps the best climbing performance ever in women's cycling.
"I'm very happy that here, at least, we are speaking about the fact that women are fast on the bike. We are reaching a great level in general in cycling," she added, hopeful that the increase in performances brings a higher level of exposure and financing into the sport.
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A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
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Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
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