Elisa Longo Borghini withdraws from Giro d’Italia Donne after crash

Elisa Longo Borghini has been forced to withdraw from the Giro d’Italia Donne after crashing on Tuesday’s stage and waking up on Wednesday morning with “considerable pain”, her Lidl-Trek team have said.

The stage 4 winner had been within a minute of the race lead heading into stage 5, but suffered a nasty crash on the final descent of the day. She was able to get back on her bike and ride to the finish, but will not take the start of stage 6.

The team confirmed that whilst the Italian had not suffered any broken bones or concussion symptoms, a number of contusions and abrasions from the crash had left her in too much pain to continue.

The crash came at the most inopportune time for the Italian national champion, who was in pursuit of Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar Team) and the solo attacker, Antonia Niedermaier (Canyon-SRAM), who would go on to win the stage and take Longo Borghini’s second place in the GC.

Seconds prior to Longo Borghini’s crash, Van Vleuten had overcooked the same corner but emerged relatively unscathed having kept her bike upright and made a quick return to the asphalt to continue her pursuit of Niedermaier. As for Longo Borghini, the 31-year-old overshot the left-hand bend completely and went flying over her handlebars and the rocky mound she made an impact with.

Longo Borghini did not emerge from the ditch for a short while and was eventually towed to the line in Ceres alongside her teammate, Shirin van Anrooij. The pair came to the finish 7:33 down on the Canyon-SRAM stage winner, sending Longo Borghini from second on GC down to 17th.

Velo Collection (TDW)/ Getty Images

Elisa Longo Borghini veers off the road in the wake of Annemiek van Vleuten’s last-minute save

Giving an update immediately after the stage, Lidl-Trek said that Longo Borghini would have further checks at the hospital having felt pain in her right shoulder and suffering a blow to the head during the incident. Initial scans of her pelvis and right shoulder revealed no fractures and a brain scan cleared the Italian from any injuries, but her further participation would not be decided until Wednesday morning.

The final decision to withdraw from the race was confirmed on the morning of stage 6, with Longo Borghini waking up in considerable pain following the contusions and abrasions that she had suffered “to the right side of the body, in particular, the shoulder, scapula and ribs”.

No further update has been given in regard to her recovery period, but it is likely that Longo Borghini will now put her focus on returning to racing at the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift at the end of the month, which she has previously noted as a priority.