Tour de France Femmes 2024: 'Gutted' Elisa Longo Borghini ruled out of Tour de France Femmes after training crash
Updated 11/08/2024 at 13:31 GMT+1
Elisa Longo Borghini will be one of the big names not competing in this year's Tour de France Femmes, beginning on Monday. An injury suffered in a training crash means that Lidl-Trek have been forced to reshuffle their general classification plans. The focus will now turn to Gaia Realini and Shirin van Anrooij, who take up the mantle in Borghini's absence.
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Elisa Longo Borghini has ruled herself out of the Tour de France Femmes following an injury sustained in a training crash.
The third edition of the women's cycling event gets underway on Monday, August 12, live on Eurosport 1 and discovery+.
The 32-year-old did not suffer any fractures in the aftermath of the incident, but it is enough to see her withdraw from the race and inflict a huge blow on Lidl-Trek’s general classification aims.
Longo Borghini announced the news via her social media channels on Saturday, writing: “With regret I won’t be at the start of Tour de France Femmes 2024 due to the consequences of a crash in training.
“No fractures, but I left a lot of skin on the road and I can’t ride my bike.
“I feel gutted not to be alongside my teammates to fight for a great Tour for Lidl-Trek. Good luck ladies!”
It is a big blow for the Italian, who will be denied the chance to complete a Grand Tour double after winning this year's Giro d'Italia.
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She also represented Italy at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, coming eighth in the time trial and ninth in the road race.
Longo Borghini's absence means that Lidl-Trek will now turn their attention to Gaia Realini and Shirin van Anrooij to lead their general classification charge.
“Gaia and Shirin will both have the opportunity to see what they can do on the general classification and we have some really strong support for them,” said Lidl-Trek sport director Jeroen Blijlevens in a team statement published by cyclingnews.com.
“Elisa will, naturally, be our leader for sprints, while, Lucinda [Brand], Lizzie [Deignan], Spratty [Amanda Spratt], and Ellen [van Dijk] bring a wealth of experience to our line-up.
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“Overall, we have a really well-balanced team with a group of riders that all have the strength to win in different ways and everyone is excited about the challenge ahead.”
Borghini is not the only big name to rule herself out of the Tour, with world champion Lotte Kopecky confirming her absence in April to focus on the Olympics.
Meanwhile, climbing specialist Ashleigh Moolman Pasio is also expected to miss the race after she was omitted from AG Insurance-Soudal team's line-up announcement.
The Tour de France Femmes gets underway in Rotterdam on August 12, and concludes on Alpe d'Huez on August 18.
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Watch the Tour de France Femmes live on Eurosport 1 and ad-free on discovery+.
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