Lizzie Deignan: Let’s cause chaos at the Giro d’Italia Donne

With no clear leader at the Giro d’Italia Donne, which starts on Friday, Lidl-Trek pair Lizzie Deignan and Elisa Longo Borghini are planning to race aggressively in a bid to take home the overall victory.

The three-time maglia rosa winner Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar) will no doubt begin the Giro Donne as the big favourite to win her sixth Grand Tour in succession, but to find the strongest team in the race you must look no further than the newly-rebranded Lidl-Trek outfit.

The American team will take to the start in Chianciano on Saturday with an all-star lineup that includes Deignan, Longo Borghini, Shirin van Anrooij and Gaia Realini, all capable of winning the race should things fall their way. When asked what her role would be in the Giro, Deignan was honest: “Everything!”

“I think stages 2, 4 and 6 are probably most suited to me,” she said. “That also depends on which direction the race is going in. I might find myself completely legless having worked for Elisa or Gaia or Shirin, so it’s all very well hoping to get an opportunity myself but I think if you’re taking your job seriously as a domestique, then those opportunities for yourself diminish.”

For Longo Borghini, the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift is her priority this summer, but the recently-crowned Italian national champion is adamant that she has prepared well for the Giro and retains an open mind as to whether she targets stage victories or the GC as the nine-stage race unfolds.

“I am targeting the Tour de France more but this does not mean I am here on holiday,” she said. “I am going to be here together with my team hunting for stages and then I will look at the GC. I never go to a race without being prepared.”

Expanding on her decision to prioritise the Tour, Longo Borghini acknowledged: “You have to give priority to the races that give the most exposure to sponsors and teams, therefore you have to choose the Tour de France at the moment.”

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Elisa Longo Borghini: “Gaia [Realini] is energetic! She is so enthusiastic and I love enthusiastic people"

With no specific leader of their team, Lidl-Trek may be best placed to race aggressively over the rolling roads of Italy and create a numerical advantage over those riders who are the sole leaders of their team, such as reigning champion Van Vleuten.

“It is nice [having multiple leaders] because we can have more riders to the front and play more cards within the team, and the other teams don’t know who we are racing for - which is nice,” gleamed Longo Borghini.

Admitting that they do have “a great advantage”, Deignan was in a playful mood speaking on the eve of the race.

“Let’s cause chaos!” she said. “Trek has become synonymous with aggressive racing and there’s no fear of failure. We are always trying to win, which is one of the things I love most about being in this team. I would love to think that we will continue in the vein we have done all season by being aggressive and using our numbers.”

Such tactics worked to perfection at the UAE Tour earlier in the season, with Longo Borghini and Realini finishing 1-2 on both stage 3’s summit finish and the overall classification. After winning stage 6 and finishing on the podium at La Vuelta Femenina, Longo Borghini has tipped teammate Realini as one of the favourites to win the Giro alongside Marta Cavalli, Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (FDJ-SUEZ) and Van Vleuten.

“For me, [the strength of] Gaia [Realini] is not a surprise. I think this year she did something special to my eyes in La Flèche Wallonne and she showed she can be one of the best climbers in the world. She will be somebody to watch in the Giro because she is really motivated and I think she can do something great here.”

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Elisa Longo Borghini puts the pressure on Annemiek van Vleuten at last year’s Giro Donne

Recognising that the route does suit their team, Longo Borghini remained wary of anybody seeking to diminish Van Vleuten’s chances due to the lack of major mountains in this year’s Giro. It has been in the long climbs that the world champion has so often made her move on the likes of Longo Borghini and Deignan in the past, but for the Italian, this year’s route does not suffer from a lack of tough racing.

“This Giro cannot be underestimated because whilst we don’t have big-name mountains, we still have hard stages and hard climbs,” insisted Longo Borghini. “There will be for sure places and times to split the peloton, and there are occasions for the climbers to get away.”

You can watch all nine stages of the Giro d’Italia Donne live and ad-free on GCN+, with the opening time trial beginning on Friday 30 June in Chianciano. With the likes of Cavalli, Uttrup Ludwig, Van Vleuten, Niamh Fisher-Black (SD Worx) and Mavi García (Liv Racing TeqFind) challenging Lidl-Trek, it promises to be an enthralling battle for the overall title. Territory restrictions apply.