Elisa Longo Borghini sacrifices Paris-Roubaix in search of Ardennes glory

Former Paris-Roubaix Femmes avec Zwift winner Elisa Longo Borghini (Lidl-Trek) will miss this year’s Hell of the North, as she places her eggs in the Ardennes Classics basket.

The Italian champion triumphed on the flat cobblestones of Paris-Roubaix in the second edition of the women’s version in 2022, but is worried about spreading herself too thin this spring and indeed this season.

As well as Paris-Roubaix, she has previously won the Tour of Flanders, Strade Bianche, and Trofeo Alfredo Binda, but has never won one of the three Ardennes Classics: Amstel Gold Race, La Flèche Wallonne, and Liège-Bastogne-Liège.

“We want to concentrate on the Ardennes, which is the big target this year,” Longo Borghini told GCN at the start of Gent-Wevelgem.

“Surely, it’s sad to miss such a big race, but at this moment you have to focus on your targets, and this year my focus is more on the Ardennes.”

Read more: Spring Classics 2024: Essential guide to the races and riders

Longo Borghini has already had a strong start to the season and to the Classics campaign, with a top-10 overall at the UAE Tour followed by podiums at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Strade Bianche, plus a win at the Trofeo Oro.

However, she decided to skip Trofeo Alfredo Binda in favour of a training camp at altitude on Mount Teide, Tenerife. She returned to sea level on Friday and lined out at Gent-Wevelgem on Sunday, but has limited expectations for the cobbles – with Tour of Flanders also on the menu next Sunday.

“I was training on Teide and I worked a bit more on the climbing, especially for the Ardennes but also just the upcoming goals in general,” Longo Borghini said.

“The Ardennes races inspire me. They inspire a lot of riders. They are nice to win or be on the podium and I just want to be good there.”

Longo Borghini has endured a string of near misses in the Ardennes. Last year she was runner-up at Liège, in 2021 she was on the podium there and at Flèche, and she has two further Flèche podiums plus a string of top-10s across all three races.

“I will try recover from this block of racing, stay home, then train a bit,” Longo Borghini said.

“I’ll come back to Belgium doing some recons, then we go full for the week.”

As for whether the big sacrifice will prove worthwhile: “We will have to see.”

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